Silent Waltz
by Hikari-chan
Summary: There is much more to Usagi than meets the eye. When a series of unplanned events go wrong, she is forced to face the past and reveal the truth. Don't tell me, bad summary, I know. **Completed**
1. Prologue: More than Meets the Eye

Silent Waltz by Comet

Silent Waltzby Comet~Princess

Fic #: 5

Disclaimer: I don´t get it. Why would you even think I owned Sailormoon or Gundam Wing? If I did, I wouldn´t be writing this, you can bet on that.

AN: Well, if anyone read the end of my last fic, I´ll tell you choice B won. Choice A wasn´t far behind though so I might start both and continue the one that you like better first. *shrug* Couples? *sweatdrop* If you go read the reviews for AiD, you´d definitely know who won. They won by a landslide! Good thing it´s my favourite couple, ne? ^_^

To the people who wanted a sequel to AiD: Uh. . . to be honest, I´m all out of ideas for that fic. I don´t want to start a sequel, hit a writer´s block, and leave all of you hanging for months. And you KNOW I can leave horrible cliffhangers. ^_^ Anywho, if I´m suddenly inspired, I´ll definitely go write it, alright?

Death Shinigami Dyuo: If you´re reading this, I know you wanted the link to my last story and I tried to e-mail it to you, but the e-mail you left didn´t work. Gomen nasai! 

Timeframe: GW, Endless Waltz has been over for a couple of years. That means the guys are 19. SM, I´m not sure yet, but the girls are 18. Well, the inners are. I don´t know if I´m going to bring in the outers. 

Hope this lives up to your expectations. 

******************************************************************* 

Prologue - More than Meets the Eye 

******************************************************************* 

Kenji Tsukino continued his research on his computer as his wife, Ikuko, looked over his shoulder. Kenji was a soldier during the war three years ago, and since total pacifism had been established by the Vice Foreign Minister Darlian a couple of years ago, he had sought to help maintain the peace by joining the Preventers. Sure, his combat skills were no match for the other members of the group. In fact, the only thing he could do was shoot from a rifle and pilot a basic Leo mobile suit. But his research and computer skills were unmatched. 

Although peace was reigning throughout the Earth and the colonies, the Preventers knew that they needed some kind of weapons on hand. Otherwise, they would be completely helpless against any kind of enemy, no matter how small. This was where Kenji came in. He researched and developed new kinds of weapons that could defend the Earth should any rebellion arise. The most recent one he was working on was a satellite cannon that could be used from space and controlled on Earth. This way, the defense system could be activated without risking the lives of soldiers. He had not yet told the Preventers of this new defense weapon, as it was not fully operational, nor did he think they would approve. They always sought for weapons that disabled rather than destroyed. However, Kenji had decided to develop this as a last resource. 

Suddenly, sounds could be heard from outside their bedroom. "Mom! Dad! I´m home!" Kenji heard his daughter shout. Ikuko smiled at her husband and left the room. His daughter, Usagi. She was eighteen this year and didn´t have a clue as to what her dad did for a living. Well, she knew he worked for the Preventers, but that was about it. He didn´t want to tell her. He´d tried to keep her sheltered away from violence all her life. She couldn´t use a weapon, she was technologically challenged, and had no means of self-defense. Overall, she was too innocent to know, and he was too afraid for her safety to let anyone, other than his wife and his associates, know that he was the mastermind behind the Preventers´ mean of self-defense. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Usagi ran into her house with her cousin and best friend, Minako Aino, on her heels. "Mom! Dad! I´m home!" she yelled. Her cheeks were flushed from the run home from school and her sun-kissed blond hair was falling out of the buns and streamers she kept them tied up in. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked at Minako. Her cousin had the same blond hair and blue eyes, but each in a slightly lighter shade than her own. 

Ikuko came down the stairs of the house and smiled at them. "So how did my two daughters do on their exams?" she asked. 

Minako´s parents had died during the war, and since then, she had lived with her uncle and aunt. Kenji and Ikuko had come to treat her like another daughter. Considering how much alike Usagi and Minako were, it wasn´t hard to do at all. 

Minako grinned at her aunt. "We did alright," she answered. "At least, better than we thought." 

"All thanks to Ami," Usagi added with a grin. 

Ami Mizuno was a friend of Usagi and Minako´s. The genius of the three girls, she had offered to tutor her two friends for the exams. Ikuko nodded in approval and went into the kitchen to make dinner while the girls started their homework. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Later that night, as Kenji was getting ready for bed, he had a sudden sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He quickly turned on his computer and checked all his research. On the surface, it looked like nothing had happened to it, but deeper investigation revealed that someone had copied the information. Kenji knew he didn´t do it, and no one else at the Preventers´ would check or copy his work. He immediately knew that not only did someone have all the information to the satellite cannon he was working on, but this person also knew who he was. He accessed the Internet and booked two tickets for the earliest flight to the Sanq Kingdom on Earth. 

"Ikuko," he called softly. 

"Yes?" his wife answered, looking up from the book she was reading. 

Kenji turned to look at her. "Someone found out," he informed her calmly. "Could you get Usagi and Minako ready for a trip to the Preventers´ Headquarters?" 

Ikuko stared at her husband for a minute before nodding and leaving the room. It would be safer for her daughter and niece if they were not staying with herself and Kenji. She woke up the two girls and proceeded to help them pack. 

"Mom," Usagi started, "why are we going to the Sanq Kingdom?" 

Ikuko paused for a second before answering, "There´s something your dad has to take care of at work." 

"Then why aren´t you and Dad coming?" Usagi countered. 

Ikuko sighed. "We´re coming later, that´s all," she responded. "Now, come on. Your flight leaves in an hour." 

Minako looked hard at her aunt and cousin. She knew that both of them were not speaking the entire truth, but they had been kind enough to take her in, so she had made herself a promise to never pry into their affairs. If her aunt or Usagi wanted her to know something, they would certainly tell her. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Usagi looked at her seemingly asleep cousin and waved her hand in front of her face. They were sitting on the plane, heading for Sanq Kingdom. The flight was supposed to take six hours. After making sure that Minako was really sleeping, Usagi opened her carry-on and took out the laptop computer she had hidden inside. A gun fell out. It was the one he gave her before he left. She picked it up carefully, expertly clicking the safety on and off for a few seconds before putting it back into her bag. She knew her parents didn´t want her to know what they were doing. She also knew Minako didn´t know what her parents were doing, nor did she know what Usagi knew or can do. She didn´t want Minako to know. It could endanger her if she knew too much, because there was much more to Usagi Tsukino than met the eye. 

********************************************************************* 

End of Prologue. 

AN: There! Did you like it? Don´t ask me what´s going to happen next, because I have no clue. *sweatdrop from readers* Heh heh, don´t worry. I´ll come up with something. AiD started out like this and it turned out fine, right? ^_^ Now, please review so my brain will actually want to think! 


	2. Chapter 1: Plane Ride

Silent Waltz by Comet

Silent Waltzby Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: I should make up a standard disclaimer song or something, like the opening songs to an anime. *starts humming* La, la, la, I don´t Gundam Wing or Sailormoon and I have no clue what to put next since I really suck at rhyming. =P

AN: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews. I just couldn´t not start writing this. *sigh* I´m going to feel so bad when school starts and I can´t spend as much time on the computer.

Warnings: Mostly humour as opposed to plot development. You´ll understand as soon as you read the first line of this chapter.

siren: No offense taken. ^_^ I agree with you, otherwise, I would write the sequel, ne?

Aidenn Legacy: LOL! You are soooo not weird, because I wonder the same thing!

Lady Rinehart: Awww. . . that´s so nice of you to say! I just hope people enjoy reading it.

Uranus2000: I have no clue =D. *sweatdrop* Usagi will probably have a bigger part than Minako though. Just thought I´ll try something different than the last story.

Neo Angel Solar System: Um. . . I do get writer´s block. I just have a brother who helps me get rid of them. ^_^ No, he´s not for sale!

Aquarius: Hey! Good point! I forgot to ask. HEY EVERYONE!! Who should Minako be with? I´ll consider anyone except for the person Usagi´s with. That was decided in the poll at the end of my last story. I´m leaning towards either Minako/Duo or Minako/Quatre though.

Timeframe: Same as last time. But pretend that Noin stuck around on Earth, and none of the "normal people" knows the identity of the Gundam pilots. I´ve decided that for now, it´d be AU for SM. My stories never go the way they´re planned though. *sweatdrop* If I change it, I´ll let you know.

That´s enough talking! Let´s start the story before you all come kill me!

**********************************************************************

Chapter 1 - Plane Ride

**********************************************************************

Duo Maxwell was bored. Duo Maxwell was very bored. And this was never a good thing. He sighed and looked at his watch. There was another six hours until they reached the Sanq Kingdom, and he had already been on the plane for three. (AN: It´s not the plane Usagi and Minako are on.) Duo glanced at his companion, Chang Wufei. He was usually not bored when Wufei was around. Heck, there were too many things that annoyed the Chinese boy and entertained Duo at the same time. Too bad Wufei had fallen asleep five minutes after the plane had taken off. Duo had entertained himself with a Gameboy for awhile, but he was itching to do something else.

"Wu-man, why do you have to fall asleep?" Duo mumbled under his breath.

Duo had received an e-mail from Lady Une at the Preventers´ Headquarters. She had asked that he come to the Sanq Kingdom right away for something important. What, she didn´t say. She had even booked Duo´s plane ticket for him, so he had accepted and gotten to his seat to find his old comrade, Wufei, in the seat next to his. Apparently, he had been checking out something in the area when Une had called him back, booking his plane ticket as well. Wufei had cursed the person who put him next to Maxwell for a nine hour plane ride to hell, but Duo had merely shrugged it off. He had tried to talk to Wufei and catch up on old times, since none of the pilots had seen each other for two years, but Wufei had announced that he was tired and that if Duo didn´t shut up, he´d cut his braid off. So, Duo had shut up, but now, he was bored.

Duo sighed again, checking his watch for the umpteenth time. Five hours and fifty-five minutes till the plane landed. It was then that he caught sight of the packets of peanuts in the traveling packages. Duo grinned. Being chased around the plane was better than being bored. He reached forwards and grabbed his package of peanuts as well as Wufei´s. He opened them and started putting each individual one in Wufei´s open mouth and ears.

About fifteen minutes later, there was a pile of peanuts in Wufei´s mouth and a couple stuck out his ears. Duo snickered and looked into the peanut package. Two left, and no place to put them. He shot a glance at Wufei and made a final decision. He stuck the last two peanuts up Wufei´s nose, one in each nostril. The effect of Duo´s actions took about five seconds to occur.

Wufei woke up abruptly, shooting peanuts from his nose and mouth like bullets from a gun. Duo started laughing hysterically.

Wufei unsheathed his katana. "Maxwell!!" he shouted, not caring if he was disturbing anyone on the plane. "I´m going to kill you!!"

Duo jumped up from his seat and ran down the aisle, laughing the whole way. Wufei chased after him, shouting death threats and curses. Halfway down the plane, an old lady stepped into Wufei´s way and smacked him in the face with her purse.

"I´d appreciate it if you keep the swearing to yourself!" she reprimanded. "My granddaughter does not need to hear them!"

Wufei shot the woman a glare. "Weak onna and weak Maxwell," he muttered before turning to stalk back to his seat and going back to sleep.

Duo glanced up from his hiding spot. He suddenly had an idea. He grinned and borrowed a piece of paper and a pencil from the flight attendant. He scribbled _Peanut Shooting Machine. Try it for 50 cents and a pack of peanuts._ Now, to sneak back to his seat and stick it on Wufei.

~*~*~*~*~

"A penny for your thoughts, Master Quatre?" Rashid asked as he sat down next to Quatre Rabarba Winner on the Winner Corporation´s private shuttle. After receiving an e-mail from Lady Une, the blond Arabian had immediately prepared to leave colony L4 for Sanq Kingdom. Currently, he was looking out the window, a pile of folders on the tray in front of him. He snapped back into reality at the sound of Rashid´s voice.

"I´m just fine, Rashid," Quatre answered with a reassuring smile. When he had announced his departure, the Maganacs had insisted on coming with him. They were a stubborn lot if Quatre ever saw one, so he had reluctantly agreed.

"I didn´t ask whether or not you were fine," Rashid replied. "I asked what you were thinking about."

Quatre sighed. Rashid had always been able to read him like a book. "I´m just worried about what´s going on with the Preventers, that´s all," he stated. "It´s unusual of Lady Une to call so abruptly."

Rashid nodded. "I just hope it´s nothing like what happened two years ago," he said.

"If it is, it seems like they detected it before it got out of control though," Quatre responded. He sat back in his seat as the shuttle took off. He wondered if the others were called as well. He had lost touch with the other pilots after the Mariemeia incident, except for Trowa, who he had seen once when the circus had arrived to perform on his colony.

"I´m sure if it´s an emergency, they would have been called as well," Rashid answered.

Quatre looked up in surprise. He hadn´t realized he had voiced the question out loud. Then, he smiled. "That may be the only good thing that will come from this, seeing everyone again," he pointed out.

Rashid nodded in silent agreement as Quatre turned back to the folders containing customer information for his company.

~*~*~*~*~

"Have a safe trip," Catherine Bloom stated as she bid farewell to her brother and friend, Trowa Barton.

Trowa gave a brief nod before he boarded the plane for the Sanq Kingdom. Catherine sighed as she stared at his back. He still barely talked at all. Sometimes, she could swear he communicated with the lions at the circus more than he did to other humans. He had told her this morning that he was going to the Preventers´ Headquarters because of something urgent. She didn´t want him to leave again, but she had learned that fighting for peace was part of Trowa, and she had accepted that.

She walked to a large window and watched as his plane took off. The circus was on Earth at the moment, so it shouldn´t take very long for him to reach the Sanq Kingdom. "Trowa, come back alive," she whispered to no one in particular.

~*~*~*~*~

Duo collected another two quarters as Wufei chased him down the aisle of the plane again. He grinned as Wufei got smacked by another parent with a child for his curses. After hiding for a couple of minutes, he slowly crept back to his seat, only to find Wufei wide awake and glaring at him. Duo eeped and hid behind one of the seats. He thought fast and as Wufei rounded the corner to him, he blurted out, "Okay, if don´t kill me, I won´t do it again!"

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Maxwell, if I kill you, you won´t do it again," he replied dryly.

Duo gulped. "Well," he began, "Lady Une is expecting me there. What would she say if you showed up with my corpse?"

Wufei sighed. The braided baka was right, for once. His co-workers at the Preventers would not be pleased. "Fine. But one more time and I swear you´re going to hell," he threatened.

Duo nodded like a good little boy and the two headed back to their seats. Luckily for Wufei, a movie was put on, so the two turned their attention to the screen. After fifteen minutes, Duo grumbled, "This movie sucks."

"What do you expect these weak people to put on?" Wufei muttered.

Duo grinned. "Glad you asked," he said. He brought out his laptop computer and started some hacking. Hey, Heero wasn´t the only person who can do it.

Another fifteen minutes later, a movie from Duo´s computer started playing on the screen. Wufei´s eyes bulged and he smacked Duo in the back of the head. "Braided baka! There´s children on this god-forsaken plane!" he hissed. (AN: One guess to the kind of movie.)

"Oops," Duo replied sheepishly. He quickly punched in a few more keys and a different movie started to play. Music from _The Lion King_ blared all over the plane. Wufei punched Duo in the face. "Why me?" he asked no one in particular.

To Wufei´s dismay, Duo knew every single word to every single song of the movie, not to mention, the braided baka sang off-key, way off-key.

"Where is Yuy´s tranquilizer gun when you need it?" Wufei muttered to himself as he prepared for another three hours of the plane ride. (AN: Please, no one take offense to me using _The Lion King_ as the movie. I actually love it ^_^. You just got to imagine Wufei watching it.)

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi clicked away on her laptop computer, all the while keeping an eye on the sleeping Minako. She knew they were going to the Preventers´ Headquarters, but she wondered why. She had a feeling it had something to do with her dad´s job. She narrowed her eyes as she hacked into her home computer. The new satellite cannon was probably the problem, but how? As far as she knew, even the Preventers didn´t know her dad was working on such a project. She sighed and closed her eyes for a second, focusing her thoughts.

Her dad thought she didn´t know anything about what he did, but she wasn´t that stupid, or that naïve. She´s known for a couple of years now, but she never told her parents that she knew. It was obvious to her that they had tried to shelter her from what was going on in the world. They would start to panic if they knew that she knew, and if anything happened to her, they´d blame themselves. She can´t let them do that. She loved them too much to let them do that. Usagi opened her eyes and looked out the airplane window. She didn´t regret finding out though. In fact, she´s never regretted anything in her eighteen years of life, except one.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her cousin stir. Quickly, she closed all the windows she was in, snapped the laptop shut, and put it into her bag. Minako opened her eyes just as Usagi straightened herself in her seat.

"Hey," Minako greeted with a smile, "what have you been doing?"

"Nothing, just thinking," Usagi replied with a smile of her own.

Minako sighed. "Look, Usagi," she began, "I´m not stupid. I know that something is going on. And I know you´re not telling me everything."

Usagi shook her head. "I don´t know what you´re talking about," she lied.

Minako eyed her. "Alright, Usagi," she said. "Just know that I´m here if you need me."

Usagi smiled again. "Of course!" she agreed. "And I´m here for you too."

Minako nodded and turned to watch the movie the plane was playing. Usagi turned to stare out the window. There was only about another hour until they reached the Sanq Kingdom.

~*~*~*~*~

Quatre walked nervously towards Lady Une´s office. He hoped there wasn´t another war. The Maganacs were at his mansion because he had insisted on going to the Preventers´ Headquarters by himself. He knocked gently on the door before opening it. There was only one person inside, a guy with long brown bangs and piercing emerald green eyes.

"Trowa!" Quatre greeted happily. "It´s been a long time, hasn´t it?"

Trowa merely nodded in his direction and offered a small smile.

"Do you know where Lady Une might be?" Quatre asked.

"She said she´ll be back in a bit to brief us," Trowa answered.

Quatre nodded and took a seat in one of the chairs. "Tell me how you´ve been doing lately," he requested.

Trowa shrugged. "Working at the circus," he replied. "You?"

"Not much, just taking care of the business," Quatre said. "I wonder what we´re here for though."

Trowa nodded in silent agreement.

~*~*~*~*~

Wufei snapped on his seatbelt as they prepared for landing. The plane ride was finally over, thank the gods. As the people prepared to leave, he grabbed his two carry-on bags and walked towards down the halls of the airport with Duo, who was chatting endlessly. Wufei tuned him out until he realized he was carrying two bags, but he had gotten on the plane with one. He stopped and looked down at the two bags. One was his, but the other, he didn´t recognize.

"I wonder what´s in here," he mumbled to himself. He turned the bag upside down, shook it a few times, then opened it.

A mountain of peanuts and quarters fell out onto Wufei, burying his feet. He turned to glare at Duo, who was grinning innocently. "There had better be a good excuse for this," he told the braided boy.

"See, after all those kids gave me the quarters and peanuts, the flight attendant came and asked me to clean up the mess I made, so I stuffed them all in a bag, labeled it with your name, and left it with your stuff," Duo explained in one breath.

Wufei silently counted to ten before unsheathing his katana. "That´s it, Maxwell!" he shouted. "I´m going to kill you!"

Duo eeped and tore down the hallways of the airport, praying that he´ll find the exit soon.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi grabbed her luggage from one of the rotating belts and turned to Minako. "That´s all," she chirped. "Now, let´s go and find this Lady Une my dad told me about."

Minako nodded, and was about to reply when they heard a loud yell of "Maxwell, I´m going to kill you!" A moment later, two boys came running down the halls, one had a long chestnut coloured braid down his back, and the other had a black ponytail at the nape of his neck. They ran past the two girls and disappeared down the crowded hall.

"That was weird," Usagi commented. _But they looked kind of familiar,_ she thought.

"The one with the braid was cute," Minako replied with a grin.

Usagi laughed. "Minako, you´re probably never going to see them again," she said.

"I can hope though," Minako responded.

Usagi sighed. She can hope too, but it´s been awhile. _I wonder if I´ll ever see you again_, she thought sadly.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she followed Minako to the exit of the airport.

~*~*~*~*~

Noin and Sally waited for the two they were supposed to pick up. They knew how to get the Preventers´ office, but Lady Une was afraid they´d kill each other on the way. Sally checked her watch. "Are you sure they come out these doors?" she asked her companion. "They are later than usual."

Before Noin could reply, they heard a loud cry of "Maxwell, you´re going to die!" Noin shrugged. "Here they come," she said.

A moment later, Duo burst through the doors with Wufei and his katana on his heels. "Ah!" Duo yelled. "Save me!"

"You weak baka!" Wufei shouted.

Duo spotted Noin and Sally´s amused looks and ran to hide behind them. "Wu-man, it was a joke," he pleaded.

"Maxwell!" Wufei warned.

Noin shook her head and sighed. "You´d think the two of you would have grown up in two years," she commented.

"I told Une that it was a bad idea to put them on the same plane, but did she agree?" Sally muttered.

"Damn right it was a bad idea!" Wufei blurted out.

Sally frowned as she looked at the Chinese boy. "Wufei, why do you have peanut shells all over you?" she asked.

Duo grinned. "Wu-man just won a lifetime supply of peanuts," he joked. He gulped when Wufei growled.

"Okay, okay," Noin said. "Before you kill each other, let´s go back to the office. And don´t say a word, Duo."

Duo nodded, glad that he and his braid were still intact. Wufei grumbled death threats as they walked to the car.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi and Minako followed the woman they learned was Lady Une into a spacious office building. The woman had been very nice to them. Although it was apparent that she knew why Kenji had sent them there, she had avoided answering that question for them.

"Could you at least tell us why we´re here?" Usagi tried again. She wanted some kind of clue, no matter how indirect it was.

Lady Une sighed mentally. Kenji´s daughter was a stubborn one. She smiled reassuringly. "I´m going to give the two of you some bodyguards," she replied.

Usagi nodded silently. Obviously, they were in danger of some kind, and her dad knew about it, otherwise, he wouldn´t send them here. But what caused it? Usagi frowned, deep in thought.

Minako blinked. "So, we´re in trouble of some sort?" she questioned.

Une shook her head. "It´s just a precaution," she answered.

She opened the doors to a large office. Inside, there was a desk, bookcases, and other office supplies. There were also four guys around Usagi and Minako´s age.

"Lady Une," the blond guy greeted.

Usagi and Minako looked around the room. The first thing out of Minako´s mouth was, "Hey! You´re the two guys who tried to kill each other back at the airport!"

Duo grinned. "How come you saw me but I didn´t see a babe like you?" he asked.

Minako grinned back at the compliment and Usagi raised an eyebrow. "I think you were just too busy running for your life," she said with amusement in her voice.

"Why are these two weak onnas here?" Wufei interrupted the conversation.

"Weak?!" Minako exclaimed, insulted at the comment.

"All onnas are weak," Wufei replied.

"Don´t mind him," Quatre cut in quickly, "he´s like this all the time."

Usagi took a few calming breaths and fought the urge to punch the chauvinistic jerk in the face right then and there. As far as the members of the Preventers knew, she wasn´t supposed to be able to beat one of their workers to a pulp. Finally, she looked up to meet the Chinese boy´s eyes with a deadly calm. "You´d better watch what you say," she warned him, her voice cold.

Minako looked at her cousin in surprise. She had never heard Usagi use that tone of voice with anyone, not even when she was really angry. _She must be way beyond mad at that comment_, she thought.

Lady Une cleared her throat, deciding that she had better break up what looked like a potential fight. "These two young women," she began, "are Usagi Tsukino and Minako Aino. The four guys here are Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei, Trowa Barton, and Quatre Winner." She gestured to each person as she spoke and they either waved, smiled, nodded, or grunted.

_No wonder they looked familiar_, Usagi thought, _they´re the ex-Gundam pilots_.

"Now," Lady Une continued, "the four of you will be bodyguards to Usagi and Minako. Something came up, so Usagi´s father has asked that they be under protection."

"So my dad knows about this something?" Usagi asked.

"Yes," Une confirmed, "but he has requested that you not be told what it is."

Usagi nodded. That was fine. She could find out herself. _Well, if he wanted to give us bodyguards, he certainly managed to get us the best of the best_, she thought to herself.

"You will work in teams, two of you for each girl," Une briefed.

Quatre blinked. Two and two was four, but there should be five of them. "Lady Une, what about Heero?" he asked the question that was on all the pilots´ mind.

Une sighed. "I have not been able to contact him," she answered. "In fact, there hasn´t been any trace of him for two years."

_Six months_, Usagi corrected in her head absentmindedly.

"So there´s no way to track him down?" Quatre questioned. He was rather disappointed that he wouldn´t get to see all four of his friends again.

Duo snorted. He was Heero´s closest friend and even he hasn´t seen or heard from the guy since the Mariemeia incident. "If anyone can find him, I´ll. . .I´ll be their slave for a week!" he blurted out, emphasizing Une´s point.

Minako blinked and turned to him. "For real? This guy is that hard to find?" she asked.

Duo grinned. "For real, babe. The guy is impossible to find if he doesn´t want to be found. I´ll bow down to the person who finds him," he replied.

Usagi let a slow smirk cross her face. _Then you´d better be prepared, Duo_, she thought with amusement.

************************************************************************

End of Chapter 1.

AN: As always, please review! I love reading them and they motivate me to start the next chapter sooner. And if you skip the stuff at the beginning, I´ll repeat it here for you. Which guy should Minako end up with? DON´T vote for Usagi. That´s already decided. Oh, and I need a bad guy. Suggestions? Arigato! Ja for now!


	3. Chapter 2: Location Confirmed

Silent Waltz by Comet

Silent Waltzby Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: insert standard disclaimer song from last chapter What? You thought I was kidding?

AN: The poll for who Minako ends up with is still OPEN!! Please vote! Duo is winning right now, and Quatre is a close second. I think Wufei has one vote and Trowa has one too. Oh gee! That just didn´t give away who Usagi´s paired with, not at all. Oh well, most of you probably figured it out anyway. And if you didn´t, you would probably have by the end of this chapter, so I don´t feel so bad now! ^_^

Aidenn Legacy: Duo didn´t make anything off Wufei. *snicker* All the quarters fell out into a pile at Wufei´s feet, then Duo got chased around the airport, remember? Too bad. ^_^

Seeking Serenity: Me be the bad guy? Am I that bad? *starts crying* Hee-chan! They´re being mean to me! *runs off to Heero*

Timeframe: Two years after EW, AU for SM.

That was unusually short. *smiles* On with the story.

***********************************************************************

Chapter 2 - Location Confirmed

***********************************************************************

Quatre led the three guys and two girls down the halls of his mansion to the rooms they´ll be staying in. They had decided to stay at his place for the time being. Lady Une still had to sort through some final details, and Usagi´s parents would be able to find them if necessary. In addition, he had 40 extra bodyguards with him, the Maganacs. They had just arrived and Quatre was taking them to settle in the guestrooms.

"Wow!" Minako exclaimed. "This place is huge!"

"Yea, Q-man!" Duo chimed in. "You got a map of this place?"

Quatre smiled. "Sorry, Duo, I don´t," he replied.

Trowa remained silent, Wufei mumbled something about a braided baka with a poor memory, and Usagi merely smiled. Quatre opened one door on his left to reveal a room decorated in pale yellow. There was a queen-sized bed with a sunflower design comforter, a dresser and a desk made of wood, and paintings on the walls. Two large windows at the opposite end would let in some sunshine when the yellow curtains were drawn back.

"That door leads to a walk-in closet," Quatre pointed out, "and that other one is connected to a bathroom."

"This is so nice!" Minako bubbled. "Usagi, I love the décor in this room! You don´t mind if I sleep in here, right?"

"No, I don´t," Usagi responded with a bright smile. "I´d really rather have a balcony in my room."

"The one next door has a balcony, Miss Usagi," Quatre supplied.

"Just Usagi´s fine," the girl replied.

"Why do you want a balcony, gorgeous?" Duo asked, puzzled. The only other person who ever asked for a room with a balcony was Heero, and that was because it made it easier to escape, or something like that. He had forgotten Heero´s three nanosecond explanation.

It seems like the same thought crossed all the pilots´ minds, because now, they were all staring at Usagi. She just shrugged, saying, "It reminds me more of my room back home."

Minako nodded. "Oh yea. You always just stood there staring at the moon and stars," she said thoughtfully.

"Oh," Quatre blurted out, obviously satisfied with the reason. "But it might be safer if you stayed inside. The property´s guarded, but just in case."

Duo and Wufei nodded, but Trowa eyed the girl carefully.

Usagi smiled. "I understand, Quatre, I just miss home," she said.

"Alright," Quatre started, "Why don´t I show you the room then?"

He led them next door into a room done in white and silver stars. It looked the same as Minako´s, except instead of two large windows, there was only one large window. The place where the second window was in Minako´s room was replaced by a set of glass doors that led out onto a balcony overlooking the gardens.

Usagi beamed. "This is perfect, Quatre!" she complimented.

Quatre smiled. "That´s good. Duo, Trowa, and Wufei will be across the hall from the two of you, so just holler if trouble arises," he explained.

The two girls nodded. Then, Duo spoke up, "So who´s guarding who?" he asked. "Since we´re supposed to be in teams and all that."

Minako immediately looped one arm through Duo´s and the other through Quatre´s. "You can guard me!" she suggested.

Quatre blushed and Duo laughed. "You´re leaving your cousin to a cruel, cruel fate," he joked. "Tro-man and Wu-man can be mute for days!"

"Maxwell, I thought I told you not to call me Wu-man!" Wufei shouted.

"Yea, yea, whatever, Wu-man," Duo replied nonchalantly.

Wufei growled, and Quatre immediately stepped in between them. "Guys, we shouldn´t fight between ourselves," he said reasonably.

"I´ll guard Usagi," Trowa spoke up. Everyone in the room turned to him in surprise. Trowa almost never talked, and he almost never volunteered either.

Duo grinned. "Is Tro-man interested in something other than being a guard?" he teased.

Trowa gave him a glare that could compete against Heero´s. "I´ll remind you, Duo, that this is a mission. I´m not Heero, but I don´t take pride in failing missions," he stated. "You should keep your mind on what´s important." That said, he walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Duo stood, staring at the door with open-mouthed shock. "Hey," he managed to say after snapping out of his stupor, "how many complete sentences was that from Trowa?"

"Braided baka," Wufei muttered. "The guy´s right. You have to remember what´s important."

Usagi smiled. "So, that´s one down. Who do you guys want to guard?" she asked. _Pilot 03, always the one that catches on quickly,_ she thought with amusement. She could already tell that he didn´t volunteer to guard her because he was interested in her. He suspected something.

"I´ve got Minako!" Duo practically shouted.

"Alright," Quatre agreed. "That means I should probably guard Usagi, unless we want to leave her with two guards who don´t say anything."

"What?!" Wufei blurted out. "I´m with Maxwell?!"

"Guess so, Wu-man," Duo said with a grin.

"Agh!" Wufei yelled. "It´s Wufei, not Wu-man!" He brought out his katana and chased Duo out of the bedroom and down the hall.

"This happens often, doesn´t it?" Minako commented, thinking of the event back at the airport.

"Was it such a good idea to pair them up?" Usagi asked. "I don´t mind if you guard Minako."

"If real trouble arises, they´ll be serious about it," Quatre reassured her. "I´ll leave you to settle in." With a small wave, he left as well.

Minako beamed at her cousin. "So, which one do you like best?" she asked.

"Duo´s a flirt. Trowa´s practically mute. Quatre´s really naïve. And Wufei´s a bastard," Usagi summarized, counting each guy off her fingers.

"So what?" Minako retorted. "They´re all really hot!"

"Minako, do you ever think about something other than hot guys?" Usagi questioned, amused.

Minako grinned. "I can be serious when I want, but if you don´t entertain yourself in life, you´ll shrivel up and die fast," she replied. "Don´t tell me you didn´t think they were hot."

"Fine, they were," Usagi answered.

"So, back to question one," Minako said slyly. "Which one did you like best?"

"Quatre, I suppose," Usagi responded. "He´s the nicest one."

"Want me to set you up?" Minako asked.

Usagi raised an eyebrow at her cousin before turning to unpack her clothes. "Like best, Minako," she reminded the girl, "not like."

Minako sighed. "You can be honest with me, Usagi," she stated.

"What?" Usagi inquired, puzzled at the meaning.

Minako took a deep breath. "Are you a lesbian?" she blurted out.

"WHAT?!" Usagi yelled. Silence ensured for a couple of seconds before Trowa and Quatre burst into the room with their guns.

"What happened? What´s wrong?" Quatre asked worriedly when he spotted the two girls.

Usagi finally turned her disbelieving gaze from Minako to Quatre. "Uh. . .nothing at all," she answered weakly. "Minako just . . .um, said something strange to me."

Quatre blinked. "Oh," he said.

Trowa nodded. "We´ll leave then," he finished quietly.

Quatre gave the two girls another worried glance before following his comrade out of Usagi´s room.

As soon as the two boys left, Usagi glared at Minako. "Just because I don´t have a crush on any of them doesn´t mean I´m a lesbian," she hissed.

Minako shrugged. "Hey, they´re four of the hottest guys I´ve ever seen, and you don´t even like one of them," she explained. "That´s not all. You haven´t even had a crush, dated, or done anything like that in two years. What am I supposed to think?"

"Has it crossed your mind that I might be interested in someone else?" Usagi asked crossly.

Minako blinked a couple of times before the meaning of Usagi´s question sunk in. She grinned and practically pounced on her cousin. "Who is it? What´s his name? What does he look like? Is he hot? Is he nice? Where did you meet him? How´d you meet him? How come you never told me?" she interrogated.

Usagi sighed. "I said 'might´ not 'am´," she replied. "Now don´t you think you should go unpack?"

"Fine," Minako answered, feigning hurt. "I know when I´m not wanted."

"Sorry, Minako," Usagi apologized. "I just don´t feel like discussing my love life, or lack thereof."

Minako´s eyes softened. "Sure thing, I´ll see you at dinner, okay?" she said.

Usagi nodded and Minako left. _I´ll find you, I swear,_ she thought as she stared out the window into the sky.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi clicked a few keys on her laptop and sighed. She needed a faster computer with more power. But where the heck was she supposed to get that? She couldn´t ask for one. She sighed again. Guess it was time to see if her skills were still as good as she believed. Snapping shut the laptop, she checked the clock on the wall in her room. A bit past midnight. Everyone should be in bed. She went to her closet and changed into a black bodysuit, strapping on a holster and her gun around her waist after. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Her normal hairstyle was just too identifiable. She walked quietly over to the balcony and lowered herself to the ground soundlessly. It was a good thing she and Minako got a tour of the gardens and house after dinner. Otherwise, she wouldn´t have found her way around Quatre´s estate.

She snuck back into the house through a downstairs window and found the door that had a computer lock on it. She had noticed it earlier when they were touring the place and had asked about it. Quatre had said that there was a high-powered computer inside that he used to use, but hadn´t for a long time. He didn´t offer to show them, and Usagi and Minako had gotten the hint that it was a private thing. As guilty as she felt about sneaking around her host´s house, she needed the computer right now. The code on the lock took her a good ten minutes to break, but it was to be expected from the ex-Gundam pilots.

Quickly, Usagi snuck in and shut the door behind her. She was awed by the set-up in the room. Judging by the musky smell and dust, Quatre was not lying when he said he hadn´t used the room in a long time. It looked like a control of room of some sort. A large computer stood on one side. The other side was a massive empty space with what Usagi could make out was a catwalk.

This was the place they stored the Gundams in during the wars, Usagi realized. Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she walked to the computer and started it up. The security system was good, but that didn´t mean it was impossible to access. She started up a few trace programs, and using what she had started to do upstairs, finished the tracking. She found people that moved a lot, whose backgrounds were a mystery, and she used all the information she knew to locate the one person she was looking for. 

"Bingo," she whispered, rubbing her eyes. It was 4:30 in the morning. She hacked into the Preventers´ e-mail and sent him a message, copying and pasting from the ones Lady Une sent the other four guys. She yawned and erased any evidence of her presence before shutting down the computer.

Usagi managed to stay awake long enough to get out of the room, sneak back into the garden, climb onto her balcony, get into her room, change, and into bed. The sun was rising by the time she fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~

"Does Usagi get up this late all the time?" Quatre asked as he checked the clock on the kitchen wall, which read noon.

The four guys and Minako were sitting around the kitchen table, eating lunch. Duo was shoving food into his mouth faster than you can say 'pig´. Wufei was muttering something about injustice and braided bakas between bites. Trowa was reading the newspaper, and Quatre was talking to Minako about a piece of music they both liked. Minako had checked on Usagi in the morning to find her asleep. So, they had let her be.

"Actually, no," Minako replied as she put down her spoon.

"Should we check on her?" Duo asked, finally stopping his eating frenzy.

"I´ll do it," Minako volunteered. Duo and Wufei stood up to follow her.

"So, babe, what do you want to do today?" Duo asked.

"I don´t know," Minako answered. "Can you believe that Quatre doesn´t have a single comic book in his entire library?! I spent the whole morning looking for one!"

Duo laughed. "Yea, we need Q-man to find a new book collection!" he chimed in.

"Weak onna. Braided baka," Wufei grumbled.

"What the hell is your problem?" Minako questioned crossly.

Before Wufei could say anything, a new voice from the top of the stairs was heard. "If I wasn´t in such a good mood this morning, I´d sock you a few times in the face," the three heard.

They looked up to find Usagi standing at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed and glaring at the Chinese boy.

"Usagi!" Minako greeted. "How come you´re up so late?"

Usagi walked down the stairs and shrugged. "Couldn´t sleep till dawn," she answered. It wasn´t lying. She just didn´t tell them why she couldn´t sleep till dawn.

"Oh, so you have that can´t sleep in a bed other than your own thing?" Duo asked.

"Something like it, I suppose," Usagi replied. "Got any food? I´m famished!"

Minako grinned and dragged her cousin off to the kitchen, where Usagi ate even more than Duo, to guys´ shock.

"Whoa!" was all Duo could say when she stopped.

"What?" Usagi asked innocently. "I didn´t have breakfast."

The phone chose that moment to ring and Quatre answered it. A minute later, he turned back to the chattering group. Well, chattering trio and silent duo. "Lady Une said she´d like to talk to us at the office, so we´re going to leave now," he informed them.

Everyone stood up and followed Quatre to the garage, where they piled into a van. Quatre drove and Wufei sat beside him, after having refused to sit next to Duo. Minako and Usagi were in the middle bench, and Trowa and Duo, in the back.

"What do you want to do on this car trip?" Minako chirped.

Duo thought for a moment before an almost evil grin spread across his face. "Let´s sing songs from _The Lion King_!!" he suggested.

"I love that movie!!" Usagi and Minako blurted out together.

"What?!" Wufei shouted. "This is injustice!! I forbid it!!"

Ignoring Wufei, the three started to sing. Halfway through the first song, Quatre decided to join in, and by the time they were at the Preventers´ office, even Trowa was humming along quietly, even though no one heard him. As soon as the car stopped, Wufei practically kicked the door down to get out, running smack into Lady Une.

"Wufei, what´s wrong?" Une asked. The Chinese boy usually did not run into things.

"Injustice!" was his answer.

The rest of the gang piled out of the car. Taking one look at Wufei´s face, Duo burst into laughter. "Yea, what´s the matter, Wu-man?" he questioned.

"Maxwell!" Wufei warned.

Lady Une cleared her throat quickly. "Anyways, I talked to Kenji yesterday, and he´ll be transferring some information to me later today. He had some conditions to this bodyguard thing, so I´ve asked you to come to clear things up," she explained. "If you´d follow me to my office."

The group followed as Une took the lead. Quatre chatted lightly with her about the weather, the news, and such. Minako was giggling quietly with Usagi and Duo over Wufei´s reaction to their car ride. Trowa followed in silence, thinking to himself, and Wufei brought up the rear. He was taking deep breaths and trying not to chop everything in sight into a gazillion pieces.

"Now, as I was saying about this protection thing," Une started as she opened the door to her office. She immediately stopped talking when she saw that there was someone in the room. Cold, emotionless eyes stared back at her.

"H-Heero?" Une managed to stutter out when she finally found her voice. The group had stopped behind Une, but as she was blocking the doorway, none of them could see inside the room. When she acknowledged who was inside, all the guys looked at each other and almost shoved Une out of the way and into the room. They stood there, looking at their comrade who had disappeared off the face of the Earth for two years in shock. Usagi and Minako followed them inside. Minako blinked at the sight of the five astonished figures, and Usagi smirked a little.

"Hey," Minako started, trying to snap them out of their stupor, "I know the guy standing there is hot, but four of you are guys too. Why are staring at him like that?"

Usagi sighed. Trust Minako to say THAT. Her comment did not help the five, but it drew Heero´s attention to the two girls. He looked at Minako for a brief moment before turning to Usagi. Their eyes met across the room, Usagi saw a streak of longing in his eyes before they became unreadable again. She gave him a tiny smile before tearing her gaze away. If she stared any longer, she´d drown in his eyes and collapse onto the floor. _At least you´re here now,_ she thought as she studied the patterns on the carpet.

Duo was the first to come back to reality. "Heero, buddy o´ pal!" he greeted before running across the room to give his old friend a big bear hug.

"Omae o korosu," Heero stated, wrenching Duo off him.

Usagi suppressed a giggle while the rest of the group, minus Minako, smiled at the statement.

"Glad to see you haven´t changed a bit!" Duo exclaimed, slapping Heero on the back, which earned him a death glare.

"Well, this is a nice surprise," Une said with a smile. "So, what brought you back to us?"

"You e-mailed me," Heero answered in monotone.

Une frowned. "No, I didn´t," she replied. "I lost track of you two years ago. I couldn´t find you at all."

"Then who contacted him?" Quatre asked, speaking all the pilots´ question.

"Admit it, whoever it is," Wufei insisted. "Maxwell´s your slave for a week."

"What?!" Duo blurted out. "I didn´t mean it!"

"Sure you did," Minako spoke up. "I asked you and you said you meant it for real."

All the pilots looked at each other. "I didn´t do it," Quatre supplied.

"As much as I would like to have Maxwell off my back for a week, it would be injustice to take credit for something I didn´t do," Wufei added.

Trowa and Duo shook their heads and looked back at Heero as though he´d have the answer. Heero was staring across the room at Usagi. The girl purposely avoided his gaze, knowing that he had figured out that it was her that had contacted him through the Preventers´. Not to mention, she didn´t want to embarrass herself by running into his arms right now, and if she looked at him, she´d do just that.

Duo noticed Heero´s stare and mistook it for something else. He nudged his friend in the ribs and grinned. "She´s gorgeous, huh? Want to be her bodyguard? You´d have an excuse to be in her bedroom at night," he stated rather loudly and suggestively. He didn´t think he´d live to see the day the Perfect Soldier got interested in girls.

Usagi started to blush and Heero had his gun aimed between Duo´s eyes in half a second. "Omae o korosu," he said.

"Sorry! It was just a joke, and you´d think you have something other than that to say after two years," Duo apologized. "Hey! Different gun!"

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Only you´d know if Yuy changed his gun," he commented.

"Yep!" Duo said proudly. "I´ve had the old one pointed in my direction quite a few times!"

Before anything could get out of control, Lady Une stepped in. "Heero, these are Minako Aino and Usagi Tsukino," she introduced. "Girls, this is Heero Yuy, the last of the . . .gang, I guess you can call them."

_Or the last of the Gundam pilots,_ Usagi filled in mentally.

"Why are we here?" Heero asked, putting the gun away.

"You´re supposed to protect these two girls. Usagi´s father works here and asked that they be under protection," Une supplied.

Heero nodded. "Mission accepted," he stated.

"Excuse me for a second," Usagi interrupted apologetically. "I´m going to use the bathroom." She turned and left the room.

Heero followed her out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Was that necessary?" Minako asked. She thought it was bad enough that she got followed around Quatre´s house.

"Heero takes missions really seriously," Quatre informed her.

"Yep," Duo chimed him, "and if he fails them, he´ll kill himself."

Wufei smacked Duo in the back of the head. That was giving out too much information, but Minako didn´t seem to catch on.

She merely blinked a few times and muttered, "What a weirdo."

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi walked down the halls to the bathroom. She didn´t need to go. She just needed to get out of the room. She sighed and stopped in the middle of the hallway. "You can come out," she said. "I know you´re there."

Heero stepped out from behind one of the pillars in the hall, but didn´t say anything.

"So," Usagi started without turning around to look at him, "we meet again."

***********************************************************************

End of Chapter 2.

AN: Whoo-hoo! This took me all day, so you´d better appreciate it!! *mock glare* Anywho, keep voting for who Minako´s going to end up with. And does anyone mind if I bastardize Mamoru? I didn´t really want to, but an idea popped up. If a lot of you mind, then I won´t do it. Tell me, okay? Oh yea! Don´t forget to review!


	4. Chapter 3: Training

Silent Waltz by Comet

Silent Waltzby Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: If you think I actually owned Gundam Wing or Sailormoon, I should just let you, since you obviously don´t have the mental capacity to win a court case anyway. =P

AN: Holy geez! You people are persistent when you want to be! So, here I am, slaving over another chapter of this fic, as SilverRay-chan calls it. ^_^ I got a lot of questions about how Usagi and Heero met before, and I´ll tell you now that I´m not answering them!! At least, not yet. I´ve been dropping hints about their past in these chapters and I´ll continue to do so. If you piece it together, good for you! If you don´t, then you´ll just have to wait until I feel like telling. *smiles sweetly*

Warnings: I´m kind of mean to Wufei in this chapter. *wince* Gomen ne, I don´t mean any harm. He was just an easy target with his overreactions and all that. It´s all meant to be funny, so please don´t take any offense. Onegai! Oh yea, Heero´s OOC.

Poll Results: Duo won by a vote at the time I started writing this chapter, so Duo/Minako it is! I promise the next fic will be Minako/Quatre! So, please don´t be mad. It looks like Mamoru will be bastardized, since everyone who voted wanted it that way, except for one reviewer. Midnight Lady, I know Mamoru was portrayed better in the manga, so to make up for it, he´ll be nice in my next fic. ^_^

Himiko-chan: Whoo-hoo! Another one of your chapters! Everyone, you can thank Himiko-chan for this chapter. We made a deal. Oh yes, and go read her story!

Seeking Serenity: Don´t worry, I didn´t take it personally. I was just having fun with you guys´ comments. ^_^

SilverRay-chan: Ah! Don´t die! You have to finish your fics still!! And how am I supposed to explain to Wufei-kun that you died? He´ll be mad! Not that he isn´t already after everything I´ve put him through, ne?

Timeframe: Same as before.

And now, brought to you unedited by my wild imagination. . .well, not really, if it was unedited, you´d have Duo get attacked by wild animals, Wufei falling out of the sky, etc.

***********************************************************************

Chapter 3 - Training

***********************************************************************

When Heero didn´t say anything at her comment, Usagi smiled to herself. "I didn´t think you´d have anything to say," she stated softly.

"Why?" Heero asked in his usual monotone.

"Why what?" Usagi returned, bemused. She knew what he meant, but she didn´t want to answer him right away.

"Why contact me?" Heero clarified. "And why through the Preventers?"

Usagi shrugged. "Duo made a bet that he´ll be a slave for the person who finds you for a week," she answered. "And if not through the Preventers, would you have shown up?"

Heero didn´t reply to her question. She was right. If he didn´t fear for another war, he wouldn´t have shown up. Instead, he said, "Then why didn´t you admit that you found me back in there?"

"I didn´t feel like it," Usagi muttered.

"If you weren´t going to take credit for it, then why contact me?" Heero persisted.

Usagi was silent for a minute before she slowly turned around to face him. When her eyes met his, she felt her tears springing up. The reunion and his indifferent façade was too much for her. Slowly, she drowned in the sea of Prussian blue. His eyes were cold, emotionless, and unreadable. "Couldn´t I just have missed you?" she finally choked out.

Heero tore his gaze away. "Why would you?" he bit out harshly.

Usagi felt the tears she´s been trying to hold back spilling from her eyes. She ran down the hall to him, clunging to the front of his jacket with her hands and burying her face into his chest. Something tugged at Heero´s heart, and he found himself holding her close to him to comfort her. Mentally, he swore at himself. Six months away from her, and he still couldn´t stop himself from caring. Gently, he tipped her face up to see the pain in her crystalline eyes. Unable to stop himself, he laid a soft kiss in the corner of her eye, where her tears started. Usagi´s eyelids fluttered shut, and Heero continued to lay butterfly kisses along the trail of tears on her face, ending it by brushing his lips lightly across hers. He pushed her away lightly, and Usagi opened her eyes.

"Don´t cry for me," Heero whispered. "I told you before. I´m not worth it."

Usagi merely stared at him. "I know you still care for me," she said softly.

"You´re my mission," Heero answered, his voice back to its normal monotone, pointedly ignoring her comment. "Why do you need a bodyguard anyway?"

Usagi looked away. "They don´t know, that´s why," she snapped. "And why do you care?"

Heero winced slightly at her tone, but she didn´t notice. "Get cleaned up," he commanded. "They´ll ask questions."

Usagi nodded and went into the bathroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Heero let out a sigh. He was the Perfect Soldier, so why did she have that kind of control over him?

~*~*~*~*~

"Aren´t those conditions the same for every protection mission?" Duo asked Lady Une after she finished reading Kenji´s instructions to them. "Basically, no harm comes to the subject type thing."

Une smiled. "I suppose, although there is one more," she added.

"What is it?" Quatre questioned.

Une gave them an amused smile. "It´s an unusual one, and I´d say it´s addressed more to Duo," she answered.

"What?" Wufei muttered. "No three foot braids?"

"That´s mean of you, Wu-man!" Duo replied, feigning hurt.

Before Wufei could bring out his katana and threaten Duo again, Quatre jumped in, "Lady Une, what is the last condition?"

"To quote Kenji," Une began, "it´d be hands off his daughter and niece."

Minako suppressed an exasperated groan and ran around the room, giving each guy a hug, her way of telling them to ignore her uncle´s last command. Duo heartily returned it. Trowa stood there like a statue. Quatre turned as red as a cherry. And Wufei pushed Minako away. "Get off me, you weak onna!" he shouted.

Out of nowhere, a fist came flying at Wufei´s face, knocking him to the ground. "Oouf," Wufei grunted. He glared up to see Usagi´s furious sapphire blue eyes glaring back down at him.

"I told you to watch what you say," she reminded him.

All other occupants in the room except for Heero stared at her in shock. The two had obviously come back in time to see Minako´s round of hugs and hear Wufei´s comment.

Duo was the first to acknowledge what had happened. He laughed loudly, pointing at Wufei. "You go, Usagi! Ha ha! Wu-man got beaten by a girl!" he yelled in glee.

"Maxwell, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Wu-man?!" Wufei screamed. He got off the floor and chased Duo around the room with his katana.

"What´s the briefing for this mission?" Heero asked Une, completely ignoring the two running around the room.

Une sighed. "You don´t change, do you, Heero?" she asked with a small smile. "Always straight to the point."

Heero glared at her, and she chuckled. "Just your normal protect mission," she stated, "with an extra command from Kenji to keep your hands off his daughter and niece."

Usagi rolled her eyes. _Too late,_ she and Heero both thought at the same time.

~*~*~*~*~

"Could you teach us martial arts or something?" Minako spoke up at breakfast a couple of days later.

Everyone else froze at the question. "Why do you want to learn?" Quatre asked kindly.

Minako shrugged. "I don´t even know how to defend myself," she admitted. "And I´m honestly getting sick of being followed everywhere I go. I mean, I know you´re supposed to protect me and all, but you won´t be around to babysit us all the time."

Trowa nodded. "Valid point," he commented.

"According to what Lady Une said, you don´t either, right Usagi?" Quatre questioned.

Usagi blinked. "Yea," she lied. She could feel Heero´s stare almost burning a hole in the side of her head, but she ignored him. Since their first reunion when he´d actually shown some kind of emotion towards her, he´d been completely aloof, much like when she first met him. Well, if he could pretend he had no feelings for her, she could too. And that meant blocking out all the times they ever spent together.

"Alright!" Duo cheered. "Training session after breakfast!"

After helping Quatre clean up all the dishes, the group made their way to the training room in the basement. "Do you mind if I go finish a few things for the Winner Corporation?" Quatre asked apologetically when they got there.

"No problem, Q-man!" Duo answered. "Heero´s here now, so we could take shifts or something with this bodyguard thing."

Quatre turned to Heero questioningly, who gave him a nod, indicating that he didn´t mind Quatre leaving for a bit. "Okay," Quatre replied with a smile. "Don´t be too hard on them with the training." He gave a wave and left the room.

"So, what first?" Minako asked eagerly.

"How about using a gun?" Duo suggested. "It´ll probably be your fastest way out of a dangerous situation."

He took out his gun and handed it to Minako, who picked it up and stared at it blankly. "Um. . .how do you use this?" she asked sheepishly.

"Well, first," Duo began, trying hard not to laugh, "you don´t hold it like you´re the Queen of the World who´s just been handed a raw fish."

Minako blushed, and Duo proceeded to show her how to use it. "Then, you press the trigger and a bullet comes out," he finished.

"Oh, like this?" Minako questioned, pushing the trigger.

A bullet flew out and whizzed by Wufei´s head, missing by only a few inches. "Watch where you shoot that thing, weak onna!" he shouted, waving a fist at Minako.

"Oops, sorry," Minako apologized.

"Maybe we should practice accuracy with paintball guns first," Trowa suggested from his position by the door. (AN: Quatre is rich. He has lots of equipment. Oh yea, I don´t really know how paintball guns work, so just pretend I know what I´m talking about. ^_^)

"Good idea," Usagi agreed. "Wouldn´t want someone to get hurt."

Trowa handed the two girls each a paintball gun. Duo continued to instruct them how to aim and shoot accurately. Usagi tuned him out after the second sentence. She had the urge to just show them she knew exactly how to shoot properly, but if she did, they´d definitely ask about her past. And that was something she didn´t want to share.

"Now, try aiming at that target board," Duo commanded, pointing to the board Wufei was standing next to.

"Okay," Minako said and pushed the trigger. The paintball flew straight for Wufei, who ducked just in time to avoid getting hit in the face.

"Onna!" he shouted when he stood up.

"Note to self, don´t stand next to the person Minako´s aiming for," Duo joked.

Minako swatted him in the arm. "Excuse me if I´ve never touched a gun before," she said indignantly.

"Sorry, sorry," Duo replied, patting the girl on the back. "You´ll get better, trust me."

"Really?" Minako asked hopefully, looking at Duo.

"Yea," Duo assured her. "I mean, practice makes perfect, right?"

Minako nodded her agreement. "Hey Usagi!" she called. "Your turn to try."

Usagi stepped up to where Minako was standing. "Want a recap, gorgeous?" Duo asked.

Usagi shook her head, instead debating whether or not to hit the target board dead center. Wufei snorted. "That weak onna probably couldn´t hit the broad side of a barn," he commented.

_Decision made,_ Usagi thought furiously. She took aim and let the paintball fire straight at Wufei, hitting him in the face.

"Injustice!" Wufei yelled, his face splattered with paint.

"Oopsies, Wufei," Usagi said innocently. "Guess bad aim runs in the family." She dared to shoot a look at Heero, who merely raised an eyebrow at her. She smirked in return.

"Why don´t you go get cleaned up, Wufei?" Trowa proposed.

Wufei grumbled a few curses and left the room. When he was out of earshot, Duo burst into laughter, and Minako and Usagi giggled.

"Don´t stand next to the person Usagi´s aiming for either," Duo commented once he got himself under control again.

"So what´s next?" Usagi asked, putting the paintball gun down.

"How about evasion lessons?" Trowa spoke up.

"Sure!" Duo complied. "Okay, you girls stand over there and we´ll stand over here. We´ll shoot from the paintball guns and you try to avoid being hit."

Minako wrinkled her nose. "Won´t we get dirty if we get hit?" she questioned.

"Then don´t get hit," Heero commented in monotone, picking up one of the paintball guns.

"Don´t worry, Minako," Duo assured with a wink. "You´ll still be beautiful even if you´re covered in paint."

Minako smiled brightly while Trowa, Heero, and Usagi all resisted the urge to roll their eyes at the corniness of the comment. Everyone got into their positions and the guys took aim to fire. Wufei chose this moment to come back into the room. As the paintballs came flying at the two girls, Usagi quickly ran and ducked behind one of the shelves that held the training equipments. Minako let out a yelp and ran behind Wufei, which resulted in the Chinese boy being hit with about five paintballs.

"Injustice!" Wufei shouted.

Usagi burst into laughter behind the shelf. "Maybe it´s not our accuracy that´s bad," she yelled out. "You´re just a good target, Wufei!"

Trowa twitched at Usagi´s comment, while Duo and Minako didn´t bother to hide their mirth. Heero kept his mask on his face, but he was smiling to himself inside. He found Usagi´s comment amusing, not to mention, he hadn´t heard her laughter for so long. It was nice. He noticed that she was still behind the shelf. He raised the paintball gun and slowly crept to where she was. Wufei, covered in paint again, stomped out of the room, muttering death threats under his breath.

"Evasion lesson one, Minako," Trowa started, "don´t hide behind people. You can get them hurt. Also, they move. It´s better to find an inanimate object, like Usagi did."

Minako nodded. "Nice job, U-" she began. At her pause, Trowa and Duo both followed her gaze to find Heero sneaking up to where Usagi was hiding.

Usagi noticed the pause as well. "What´s wrong, Minako?" she asked, looking up to find Heero´s paintball gun in her face.

"Lesson two," Heero stated. "Pay attention."

Usagi let out a slow smirk that Heero didn´t like. Swiftly, she kicked his feet out from under him and knocked the paintball gun out of his hands. He tumbled to the floor but did a quick flip so that he ended up crouching on the floor. What Heero didn´t expect was Usagi suddenly launching herself into him, making him fall backwards onto his back and pinning him down.

"Lesson three," she mocked him. "Don´t underestimate your opponents."

As quickly as she pinned him down, he flipped her back over and pinned her down, using his weight and superior strength as an advantage. "Lesson four, expect the unexpected," he returned, his face inches from hers. She could feel his warm breath against her skin, but he didn´t do anything else.

From his point of view, Trowa narrowed his eyes at Usagi´s skill. He made a mental note to talk to her later. There was definitely more to her than what everyone else thought.

Duo snickered. "Talk about chemistry," he commented loudly.

"Omae o korosu, Duo," Heero replied coldly, getting off the floor and hauling Usagi to her feet. She purposely stepped away from him and walked over to Minako.

"So?" Minako asked her cousin suggestively.

Usagi glared at her. "So what?" she countered, pretending not to know what Minako was talking about.

Minako sighed. She´ll drill Usagi after. "Okay guys, what next?" she said cheerily.

"I know!" Duo spoke up. "Let´s use the bobby trap training room next door." (AN: Quatre´s rich, okay? I don´t know why you´d have one of those.)

Minako looked at him blankly. "Huh?"

"It´s a room that is filled with traps. You try to get around from one end to the other without setting off anything. Kind of trains you to be cautious and to think carefully in dangerous situations," Duo explained.

Trowa and Heero led them in and the three guys stood off to one side. Usagi studied the room, noting the different coloured tiles and different shades of paint on the wall. Minako looked around and walked into the room, followed by Usagi.

Wufei walked into the room, after having cleaned up. "So you decided to let these two weak onnas use this room?" he asked.

"Hey! Stop with the weak stuff!" Minako shouted, spinning on her heels and accidentally stepping on a bright yellow tile on the floor.

A bucket of water fell from above the door, landing on Wufei. The Chinese boy let out a growl and unsheathed his katana. "Maxwell! I´m going to kill you!" he yelled, chasing after Duo.

"What?!" Duo cried out as he took off around the room. "But I didn´t do anything!"

"This is all your fault!" Wufei accused.

"Do I have a sign that says 'blame me´ on my back or something?" Duo whined.

As he ran, the braided boy triggered a large, black tile, opening a trap door on the floor where the tile used to be. Wufei chose this moment to run across that spot. "Ahhhhh!" he screamed as he fell into a bed of feathers in the cellar in the second basement. "I´ll kill you when I get out!" he added.

Duo gulped and let out a nervous laugh. "Um. . .if anyone needs me, I´ll be in my room, cowering in deep fear," he announced.

"What does that mean?" Minako asked, confused as Duo dashed out of the room.

"It means if anyone needs him, you´d better take care of Wufei first," Trowa translated.

"Oh," Minako said. "Poor Duo! And it wasn´t even his fault. I´ll go comfort him."

She followed Duo out of the room while Heero examined the trap door. "Too high to help him out from here," he stated.

"Isn´t it the cellar down there?" Usagi remarked, remembering what Quatre said from the tour on the first day. "Just get the cellar door open."

"We don´t have a key," Trowa replied.

"What?!" came Wufei´s voice from the cellar. "What the hell am I supposed to do until Quatre comes back then?"

"If I recall correctly, there should be a television and a VCR down there," Heero commented. (AN: Don´t ask.)

Usagi grinned evilly. "Give me a second," she said and carefully made her way out of the room.

"Just entertain yourself until Quatre comes back," Trowa stated.

"With what, Barton?" Wufei shouted. "The television down here doesn´t get any channels and there´s nothing but feathers and food supplies otherwise."

Usagi came back with a movie in her hand and dropped it into the trapdoor. "Here´s a movie! You can watch that while you wait," she told him.

"What movie is this?" Wufei mumbled. Catching sight of the cover, he let out a scream. "Not this again!"

Heero and Trowa glanced at Usagi. "What did you give him?" Heero asked.

"_The Lion King_," Usagi answered innocently.

Heero´s eyes puzzled over for a moment before he shrugged. (AN: Recall that he wasn´t around for all that singing and stuff.)

Trowa stood up. "I suggest we leave now," he stated.

Usagi stifled her laughter and followed the two boys out. From the open trap door, you can hear Wufei shouting "Injustice! I´ll kill you all!"

~*~*~*~*~

After having dinner, and letting Wufei out of the cellar, the Chinese boy had immediately announced that he was going to meditate in his room, after shooting looks that could kill at Duo, Minako, and Usagi. The rest of the group gathered to watch a movie in the den. (AN: Not the one Wufei watched. ^_^)

Minako snuggled up next to Duo in one of the large armchairs. Heero took the other, and Usagi sat between Trowa and Quatre on the couch. Fifteen minutes into the movie, Usagi couldn´t take Heero staring at her any longer. She let out a sigh, and stood up.

"I´m really tired," she declared. "I think I´ll just go to bed early." She walked out of the room.

Trowa and Quatre stood up to follow her, but Heero shook his head. He held Trowa back and nodded to Quatre. The Arabian sat back down, but Trowa stared hard at him. He had a feeling that Heero was a part of the puzzle that was Usagi. However, Trowa was smart enough to know that Heero wouldn´t give away anything he didn´t want to. He reluctantly sat back down, promising himself to question the girl tomorrow. Duo was about to open his mouth to make a comment to Heero, but Minako clamped his mouth shut with her hand. She smiled sweetly at him when he looked at her, hurt.

"I don´t want you dead," she whispered to him. "Besides, we can spy on them after."

Duo grinned. Great minds think alike.

Heero left the den and headed for Usagi´s bedroom. He gave a quick knock before walking in. Apparently, she hadn´t heard him, because she was sitting on her bed, staring at a gun in her hand.

"You kept it," he stated quietly.

His voice made her jump a foot into the air. "I didn´t even hear you come in," she replied. When he did nothing but stare at her questioningly, she added softly, "Of course I kept it, it was the only thing that you left me with, other than memories."

Heero looked away. He didn´t know what to say. The silence continued between them. Surprisingly, it was him who broke it. "I never asked you how you tracked me down," he stated, unable to think of anything else to say.

Usagi smiled weakly. "You forget who taught me?" she asked.

"I don´t think that´s possible," Heero responded, lifting his eyes to meet her gaze.

"Right," Usagi agreed. "How do you forget yourself?"

************************************************************************

End of Chapter 3.

AN: Talk about romantic tension! ^_^ So, here´s another chapter of this story. This would have been out earlier, but ff.net was down for a couple of days, sooooo I´m not to blame! Himiko-chan knows what I´m talking about. As always, review, and I´ll be motivated to continue this story. Ja ne!


	5. Chapter 4: Forget Me

Silent Waltz by Comet

Silent Waltzby Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: I own me, that´s it. Now, go away!! (Unless you´re not going to sue me. ^_^)

AN: Do you guys know how much it sucks when ff.net is down? I was so deprived of reviews during that week. (or is it two?) Anyway, I got bored, so I started writing this before I got feedback, which usually doesn´t happen. Your reviews are my source of inspiration for the following chapter. Anywho, if this chapter is worse than the norm, you now know why!

Warnings: Some mushiness. One line of Relena-bashing. And OOC-ness for Heero! OOC-ness for Heero! OOC-ness for Heero! Now you can´t say I didn´t warn you.

zgurl: Gomen nasai. I said at the beginning of AiD that I´m not writing anymore to TGIFY and I haven´t changed my mind.

StarGazer: Heh heh. Thanks for the information, I´ll keep that in mind. Demo, I did say I knew nothing about them. ^_^ Well, it WAS Wufei that got hit. . .soooo, let´s just say Wufei-kun is strong enough to take it. *sweatdrops*

Purr: Ah! I meant to say that you were the only person who caught on to the gun hint, but ff.net wouldn´t let me access my reviews and I couldn´t remember who it was! Gomen! Anyways, congrats for catching on! ^_^

Timeframe: I bet you all forgot. *sigh* 2 years after the end of EW. Guys are 19, Usagi and Minako are 18.

Oh yes, thanks goes out to Himiko-imouto-chan and SilverRay-chan for keeping me sane when ff.net was down! *tackle glomp* See you on ICQ!! ^^

**********************************************************************

Chapter 4 - Forget Me

**********************************************************************

_I almost wish I can forget myself_, Heero thought to himself as he and Usagi continued their staring contest. He didn´t even divert his gaze. He could spend the rest of eternity looking into the pure sapphire blue of her eyes. Usagi stared back, captivated by his intense gaze. Sitting there, staring at him, the six months they spent apart almost vanished into thin air. . .almost. Her hand tightened around the gun unconsciously. She could still remember the day he´d left as though it had been yesterday.

**_Flashback_**

_The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. All the students ran out of their classrooms. Usagi ran out of her last period class with Minako in tow._

_"Are you going home now, Usagi?" Minako asked her cousin. _

_Usagi smiled. "I always do, don´t I?" she replied. _

_Minako sighed. "Yes, you do," she answered. "That´s why I´m worried about you. For the past year and a half, you´ve abandoned all after-school activities to go home early. Is something wrong?" _

_Usagi shook her head. "What could be wrong?" she questioned with a grin. "Just because you miss having someone to check out the guys on the sports team with doesn´t mean something´s wrong. By the way, who´s the crush of the week?" _

_"I´ll have you know that it´s not a crush this time!!" Minako huffed. "I think it´s meant to be." _

_"Sure," Usagi teased. "That´s what you said last week." _

_Minako scowled. "You know, one of these days, I´ll be right!!" she declared. _

_Usagi laughed. "I´ll see you at dinner, alright?" _

_Minako nodded and walked off to volleyball practice, leaving Usagi alone to head out of the school gates. Once she was sure no one was following her, she took off skipping in the opposite direction of her house. Reaching a modest two-story cottage, she took out the extra key he gave her and let herself in. _

_"Heero! You want to go for ice-cream before you teach me-" Usagi paused, noticing that the foyer was devoid of all furniture. She shut the door quietly behind her and took a few more steps inside. All of a sudden, she heard a soft click on her left. Instinctively, Usagi put her hands in the air. She sensed the figure approaching her. When it was close enough, she swung her schoolbag at its arm, knocking the gun to the floor. Without thinking, she did a low sweep kick. The figure back-flipped into a crouching position. Quickly, Usagi took a few step to the side and stepped into a fighting stance. Making sure that the gun was underneath her foot, she looked at her opponent. _

_Usagi blinked. "Heero! You scared me!!" she yelled at him, dropping the stance and picking up the gun. _

_Heero kicked the gun out of her hand and pinned her to the wall in one swift motion. "Don´t assume I´m your ally just because you know me," he warned her. _

_"Considering it´s you, that´s kind of hard," Usagi replied dryly. "I know you wouldn´t hurt me." _

_Heero regarded her with his emotionless eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He cared too much about her, and that was a weakness. One that his past enemies will use against him very soon. He released her and picked up the gun from where it fell. Without looking at her, he spoke, "I´m leaving." _

_Usagi blinked. "I´m sorry, Heero. That wasn´t supposed to be offensive," she stated, confusion in her eyes. _

_"I don´t mean I´m leaving this room," Heero clarified, gesturing to the now empty house. "I mean I´m leaving this town." _

_Usagi grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her. "What?!" she cried out. "But why?" _

_Heero shrugged. "Personal reasons," he answered in monotone. _

_By the way he replied, Usagi knew she would get no more than that out of him. She averted his gaze, instead choosing to look at the floor. "But you promised to teach me," she said quietly. _

_Heero caressed her cheek lightly. "I did, and trust me, you´re better than the average soldier," he responded. _

_Usagi tried not to cry, but without success. He´d been a constant in her life for the past year and a half. When she told Minako that she was going home, she was really here, with him. Most of the time, he trained her, at her request. Once in awhile, she´d convince him to go out and do something else. It was hard to believe he´d be leaving, that she might not see him again. "You won´t even think about staying?" she asked softly. _

_Heero gently kissed her tears away before capturing her lips in a kiss so light, she thought it might not have been there at all. "Don´t cry," he told her. "I´m not worth your tears." He didn´t know why he had agreed to teach her in the first place, just that no one should be close to him. He was supposed to be completely emotionless, and most of the time, he was. Unless he was with Usagi. She made him feel, and it made his loneliness leave. He liked it, but if any of his old enemies ever found out that he cared about her in such a way, they would surely come after her to get to him. She might have learnt how to defend herself, but he didn´t want her to have to use those skills at all, especially now, when the world was supposed to be at peace. She shouldn´t be involved in his dangerous past. _

_He kissed her again, hungrily and fiercely this time, seeking the warmth he always felt when he was with her. Usagi responded eagerly, melting into his arms and holding him to her as though she´d die if they separated. When he finally pulled away, she felt a piece of cold metal being pressed into her palm. She looked down to find his gun, the one he always kept on him, in her hands. _

_"Last gift to you," Heero answered her unspoken question. _

_Usagi smiled knowingly. "And to protect myself," she added for him. _

_"Hopefully, that wouldn´t be necessary," Heero muttered, more to himself than to her. _

_Usagi stared at the gun, clicking the safety on and off a few times. It was a familiar feel. It was, after all, the gun he taught her how to shoot with. Slowly, she looked up into his Prussian blue eyes, which, for once, flickered with something akin to sadness and regret. _

_"Promise me we´ll meet again," she whispered. _

_Heero looked away from her. "I don´t know if I can keep that promise," he answered quietly. _

_Usagi tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. "Just promise me?" she pleaded. She wanted some hope of being able to see him again, no matter how small. _

_Heero was silent for a moment. When he spoke, it was not what Usagi expected at all. "I promise, but only if you promise me something too," he replied. _

_"Anything," she stated. _

_Heero tipped her chin up and looked deep into her eyes. "Forget me." _

_"What?!" Usagi blurted out. _

_"Don´t try to find me. Don´t remember me. The moment you leave this place today, I cease to exist in your memory," Heero responded._

**_End Flashback_**

"I regret it," Heero stated bluntly after another couple of minutes of staring.

Usagi blinked. "You regret teaching me?" she asked.

"All of it, meeting you, teaching you," he replied. _Getting attached to you,_ he finished in his head.

Usagi stood up from her bed and stared at him in shock, pain and hurt flashing through her eyes, making Heero wince internally for saying what he did out loud. "You. . .you regret. . .meeting me?" she stuttered out in a whisper.

Heero looked away from her. His heart twitched. He didn´t know what he wanted to do. He could lie to her and have her hate him forever, but he didn´t want that. He wanted her to care about him. No one had ever cared about him. She was the first. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe. She would never be safe if she was with him though. However, he knew she´d be hurt more if he lied to her. Before he realized what he was doing, he answered, "No, I don´t regret meeting you. I regret that you met me."

Usagi shook her head. "I don´t regret meeting you, Heero," she proclaimed.

"You should," Heero retorted.

Usagi crossed her arms stubbornly. "Why should I?" she questioned. "I happen to like spending time with you."

"You should regret meeting me because you were innocent before," Heero replied.

"And clueless, not to mention helpless," Usagi added.

"I taught you to use a computer; I taught you to fight; I taught you to use weapons; I taught you to break in and out of places," Heero listed, clenching his fists at his side until his knuckles turned white. "I made you into another soldier."

Understanding finally dawned onto Usagi. Slowly, she walked towards him until he was only a few inches away. "No," she said softly, looking him straight in the eye. "I chose to learn how to use a computer; I chose to learn how to fight; I chose to learn how to use weapons; and I chose to learn how to break in and out of places." She reached up to caress his cheek. "You never made me into a soldier," she continued. "I chose to become one."

"You shouldn´t have to be one," Heero responded. He caught the hand stroking his cheek and pressed a kiss into her palm. Dropping her hand, he walked to the balcony.

Usagi blinked and stared at her hand, caught off-guard by Heero´s sudden display of affection. By the time she snapped out of her reverie and looked at the balcony, he was gone.

(AN: Why didn´t he use the door? *sweatdrop* I don´t know. Old habits die hard? You know, he would have been trained to find odd ways out of places? Whatever. ^_^)

~*~*~*~*~

Minako stood up from her position in Duo´s lap and tugged on his shirt. "Come on!" she hissed into his ear.

Duo grinned and stood up to follow her.

"You don´t want to watch the movie?" Quatre asked when he noticed Minako standing up.

"Oh, that´s not it!" she replied, smiling at the blond haired boy. "I just need to go to the bathroom, and since Duo´s my bodyguard, I figured he´d need to follow me."

Quatre nodded, smiled, and turned back to the movie while Trowa eyed her before shrugging and turning back to the television screen.

Minako dragged Duo to the staircase before she spoke. "You think there´s something going on too, right?"

Duo snickered. "Are you talking about taking me to the bathroom with you or Heero and your cousin?" he asked sarcastically.

Minako smacked Duo in the arm. "In case you didn´t notice, I don´t have to go to the bathroom!" she replied. "You want to know if there´s something going on between them too, don´t you?"

Duo broke into a grin. "If there is, I am going to tease Heero until he goes to his grave," he joked.

Minako wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure he won´t shoot you?" she asked, remembering the many times when Duo had found himself face to face with the barrel of his friend´s gun.

Duo shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, he wouldn´t really," he replied. "Now, come on. Time for some stealth lessons."

He silently crept up the stairs, pausing to teach Minako a few things about sneaking around. She made a couple of noises, but it wasn´t too bad, since Usagi´s room wasn´t near the staircase.

"Usagi´s room or Heero´s room?" Duo whispered to Minako as they crept through the halls.

"Usagi´s," Minako answered just as quietly, following Duo´s lead. "He followed her, after all."

The braided boy gave a nod and crept towards her room, being careful to be as silent as possible. When he reached her door, he motioned for Minako to be quiet. With skills that he had developed over the many years, Duo slowly opened the door just a crack and peered into the room.

"I taught you to use a computer; I taught you to fight; I taught you to use weapons; I taught you to break in and out of places. I made you into another soldier," they heard Heero´s voice say. For once, it seemed to be slightly strained instead of its usual monotone.

Duo blinked and looked at Minako. From her puzzled expression, it was obvious she didn´t know what Heero was talking about either.

Then, they heard Usagi´s voice answer, "No. I chose to learn how to use a computer; I chose to learn how to fight; I chose to learn how to use weapons; and I chose to learn how to break in and out of places. You never made me into a soldier. I chose to become one."

"You shouldn´t have to become one," Heero´s voice replied.

What Duo saw next made his jaw drop. He closed the door and ushered Minako to her own room before bursting into laughter.

"What´s so funny?" Minako demanded. "I thought it was so sweet!"

"Sweet?" Duo commented incredulously. "There´s one word that I´d never use to describe Perfect Soldier Boy."

"What do you think they were talking about?" Minako asked, pondering over the small bit of the conversation they had overheard.

"Hmm. . ." Duo murmured, thinking about it as well. "Well, obviously, Heero taught Usagi those things he listed."

"But when? He didn´t even speak today in training," Minako answered.

Duo shrugged. "I don´t really get the soldier part," he muttered.

"Well, at least we know there´s something going on between them," Minako mused.

Duo snickered. "That reminds me, I have to go tease a certain friend of mine now. You going to be okay?" he asked.

Minako nodded. "Yep, go ahead. But don´t get yourself killed," she responded with a smile. She had to tease someone too, but at least she didn´t have to fear being shot.

Duo smiled back. He took Minako´s hand, gave her a mock bow, and kissed the back of her hand. "See you tomorrow then, Princess," he declared, and left the room.

Minako blushed a little at the unexpected gesture before heading over to Usagi´s room.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi curled up on top of her covers. _What are we, Heero? Friends? Or something else?_ she wondered silently to herself. She knew he still felt something for her, something more than friendly concern, but what was she supposed to do? He was acting so detached, like he never knew her before the day he showed up in the Preventers´ office. Well, except for the odd time when they were alone, and even then, it was nothing that truly indicated how he felt about her. She knew he cared, but that wasn´t exactly what she was looking for. She already knew that. Usagi sighed. All this thinking was slowly giving her a headache. She sat up when she heard knocking on her door.

"Come in," she called out.

Minako breezed into the room and grinned at her cousin. "So, what´s going on?" she asked, not bothering to be discreet.

Usagi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" she returned, honestly confused by Minako´s question.

Minako smiled innocently. "What´s going on between you and Heero?" she answered.

Usagi blinked. "What makes you think there´s something going on?" she questioned at last. Unless she had to, she didn´t want to tell Minako about Heero, because if she did, she´d have to tell about the training parts too.

"Um. . ." Minako stuttered. "Promise you won´t be mad?"

Usagi nodded, and Minako quickly spoke, "Me and Duo were curious, so we snuck by your room and peeked in and caught Heero kissing your hand."

Usagi froze. "Did you hear anything?" she asked cautiously, remembering what she and Heero were talking about just prior to that.

"Yea, we heard all this weird stuff about training. Hey Usagi! Heero didn´t even talk today in training. How could he have taught you anything? Unless you read minds," Minako babbled.

Usagi sweatdropped. "Minako, there´s some stuff you don´t know about me," she began, watching as her cousin regarded her curiously.

Minako smiled. "Well, I always knew there was more to you than you let on," she said quietly with a sign. "But I promised myself that I´d never pry into your family´s stuff."

Usagi reached over and enveloped Minako in a bear hug. "Thanks," she responded softly. "I promise I´ll tell you everything once all this danger stuff is over, if not sooner."

Minako hugged back. "Well," she drawled, "there is a way you can make up for keeping secrets from me."

Usagi pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "I´m not sure I want to know," she replied dryly.

Minako grinned. "Do you like him?" she questioned.

Usagi smiled in amusement. She was silent for a moment, thinking about what she should tell Minako. "Depends on what you mean by 'like´," she answered. Deciding that she had better change the subject before she told her cousin more than she wanted to, she added, "What do you think of him?"

"He´s hot, but he´s a weirdo," Minako commented, wrinkling her nose. "I haven´t even see any emotion other than. . .uh. . . now that we´re talking about it, I don´t think I´ve seen emotions on that guy at all!"

"Irritation?" Usagi offered, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"I guess," Minako answered, smiling mischievously. "Well, at least I know you´re not a lesbian now."

Usagi scowled and chucked her pillow at Minako.

~*~*~*~*~

Duo muttered some curses under his breath when he found that Heero wasn´t in his room. He wanted to tease the Perfect Soldier badly, but if he couldn´t find the guy, then he couldn´t do anything. The braided boy grumbled a little before heading to the gardens. So Minako thought Heero was sweet, huh? Duo shook his head slightly. _I wonder what Minako would say if I showed up under her window with a guitar?_ he thought to himself, remembering some ancient chick flick that his good friend Hilde had made him watch with her. Then, he remembered how the guy had sung in the very next scene and quickly scratched out the idea. The guys would no doubt kill him for it. Well, at least Wufei will.

Duo snapped out of his train of thoughts when he realized he had stumbled into Quatre´s garden. . .and the Perfect Soldier. He grinned and was about to call out when he decided to see what Heero was doing in the garden first. He peered over the bush curiously and watched as his best friend bent down to one knee in front of a white rose bush and picked one off, staring at it as though he was in a trance.

Duo briefly wondered what his friend was doing. He shrugged and came out from behind the bush. "Hey Heero!" he called out with a goofy grin.

Heero didn´t move from his position. He merely demanded, "What do you want?"

Duo walked up behind him. "So," he began innocently, "who´s that for?"

Heero stood up abruptly, knocking Duo in the chin with his shoulder. He dropped the rose back into the bush. "What the hell do you want?" he asked again.

Duo grinned. "Oh, not much. Just wondering how possible it is for the Perfect Soldier to have a crush," he said nonchalantly.

Heero´s face remained expressionless. Duo shrugged it off, used to his comrade´s lack of reaction. "Did you go for anything more than kissing her hand?" Duo prompted suggestively, making Heero whirl around and glare at him.

"Ooh! Reaction!" the braided boy continued to taunt, which was a bad idea, considering he found himself staring into the barrel of Heero´s gun in the next moment.

"Omae o korosu," Heero threatened.

"So what else is new?" Duo returned sarcastically. "Seriously though, what´s up with you and Usagi, huh?"

"Nothing," Heero growled. "Now, leave me alone."

"Give me a break!" Duo muttered. "I´m not that stupid. Like there could really be nothing going on. Hello? This is you we´re talking about. If you taught someone anything, there´s something going on!"

"You were eavesdropping? How much did you hear?" Heero inquired slowly.

"Just the bit about you training her," Duo answered. "Which reminds me, when did that happen?"

"That´s none of your business," Heero replied.

Duo broke into a grin. "I get it. You trained her in secret today because you have a crush on her and you don´t know any other way to get closer to her," he guessed.

If Heero wasn´t the Perfect Soldier, he would have facevaulted. Despite the wild guess, Duo was actually kind of close. It was more the other way around though. "Duo, just stay out of my stuff," he commanded.

"Hey, I´m just trying to help," Duo admitted. "Trust me. Giving your gun to a girl is not exactly a turn-on. . .unless you count that psycho Relena." (AN: Duo´s just randomly saying things. He doesn´t know that Heero really gave his gun to Usagi. And no, it wasn´t meant to be a turn-on. He just gave it to her so she could protect herself.)

"I don´t want your help," Heero stated, trying not to sound irritated.

"Ah ha! So you do like her!" Duo concluded, breaking into a grin so wide, it looked like his face might crack. "Oh boy, wait till I tell the other guys this! The Perfect Soldier has a crush! Who would have thought?!"

Heero clicked the safety off his gun, which was still pointed at Duo. "Say a word and I swear I´ll kill you," he warned.

Duo shrugged again. "Like you´ll really shoot me. We have a mission!! Plus, Minako would be mad if you shot me, then Usagi will be mad because Minako´s mad," he reasoned with an innocent smile. "You wouldn´t want your girlfriend to hate you, right?"

Reluctantly, Heero put the gun back. He glared at Duo. "If you say a word, I´ll hold you down the next time Wufei decides he wants to chop off your braid," he rephrased.

He didn´t notice that he hadn´t refute Duo´s statement about Usagi being his girlfriend, but Duo did. Unfortunately, the former pilot of Deathscythe was a little busy hugging his beloved braid to make a comment about that. "You wouldn´t do that to my baby, would you?" he squeaked.

Heero crossed his arms and gave his famous death glare, letting Duo know that all he had to do was mention what he found out to the guys, and he´d get one free haircut. Duo gulped and nodded.

Heero started to walk back to the house, inwardly smirking with satisfaction. Duo finally gained enough of his mischievousness back to follow Heero and open his mouth. "Hey Heero, you never told me if you did more than just kiss her."

Heero glowered and slammed Duo into the wall beside the door before walking inside. Even if he couldn´t shoot Duo, he could still hurt him for the provocative comments.

"A simple no would have sufficed," Duo mumbled into the wall. "Violent people these days."

***********************************************************************

End of Chapter 4.

AN: Alright people! No cliffhanger type ending! ^_^ But here´s the deal. School´s starting, and that means I´m going to have A LOT LESS time to work on fics. I´ll keep writing but updates will definitely slow down. Gomen for taking a long time with this chapter, but ff.net was down and all. Anywho, please review! I need them for inspiration!!


	6. Chapter 5: Sharing the Past

Silent Waltz by Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: I own my Fushigi Yuugi DVD and my Weiss Kreuz tapes. Alright, let´s move on. ^_^

AN: *peeks at readers from behind Heero* Hi! ^_^"" I know I should have gotten this out a long time ago. And I will make no excuse for my laziness to get started. But I hit a point where I knew what I wanted to happen, but I couldn´t put it down on paper. Then, the writing mood hit me this last week before Christmas, so I managed to produce this!! Along with the second episode of WOALM! O_O I´m so erratic in my habits. Anyways, I worked hard on this, so I hope you enjoy! ^_^ Happy holidays, minna!

Warnings: Possible Mamoru-bashing?

Himiko-imouto-chan: Gomen that I didn't write the extra Christmas fic, but I've got to uphold my sanity. There's no way I can finish it for Christmas time. Sumimasen! Maybe for another holiday, okay? ^^""

Netnut: Nope! *evil grin* You´ll find out the past as the story keeps moving forward. That´s the style I´m experimenting with here. ^_^ If anyone is familiar with the Final Fantasy series, you know what I´m talking about.

V-Babe: That´s a good idea. ^_^ I´m do a bit more of that in this chapter. Reading you guys´ reviews made me realize that I´ve hardly developed Minako and Duo as a couple and as individuals, so I´ll try to remedy that. Thanks!

Midnight Lady: I´m flattered that you like my writing so much ^^"" demo, I´m not sure my parents would be happy if I did that.

Uranus2000: I think it´s a word. And you´re right. But don´t blame me for taking your suggestion. . .

Thanks to SilverRay-chan and Purr-chan for continuously reminding me to write. Trust me, if it wasn´t for them, this would take another half a year, and I´m not exaggerating.

Timeframe: Heck, I forgot. *sweatdrops* You wouldn´t mind checking the last chapter if you really wanted to know, right? ^^""

Alright, moving on. ^_^

*********************************************************************

Chapter 5 - Sharing the Past

*********************************************************************

Usagi tiptoed around the mansion, not making a single sound as she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. She was surprised to find Trowa already there. It was, after all, rather early in the morning. He sat with a cup of coffee and some toast, unaware of her presence, for now.

"Good morning, Trowa," she greeted him.

He glanced up at her, and although he was unnerved that she had managed to make it downstairs and into the kitchen without him noticing, he didn´t show it. It had been a long time since someone had been able to do that. As far as he remembered, not even Quatre and Duo could. He gave a brief nod to her, and watched thoughtfully as she grabbed herself a cup of milk and looked to see if there´s anything better than toast for breakfast.

"Say, you wouldn´t happen to be able to cook, would you?" Usagi started, holding up a carton of eggs for him to see and giving him a pleading look.

Trowa continued to study her without a word. There was definitely something not quite. . .well, right, with her. At least, not the way Lady Une had portrayed her to the pilots. He stood up quietly, taking the carton from her and turning on the stove.

Usagi grinned. "Thanks Trowa, I owe you!" she exclaimed happily.

"Usagi," Trowa said without turning to look at her.

"Yea?" she replied. She knew what he was about to ask her, but she wasn´t ready to answer him, especially after what happened last night.

This time, Trowa turned to face her, and she noticed a brief glint in his eye before he spoke. "Who are you?"

Usagi blinked. "Usagi Tsukino," she answered carefully.

"That´s not what I meant, and I think you know that," Trowa replied quietly. He didn´t speak anymore, merely staring at her, not curiously, not menacingly, merely staring, waiting for her answer.

Usagi plopped down into a chair, playing nonchalantly with the handle of her mug. She stared into the white liquid, thinking about what she should tell Trowa. She knew she could trust him. He was Heero´s comrade in the war. Plus, if she was ever to confide in someone, she knew that he was probably the best choice. Still, she was reluctant to reveal anything.

Glancing at Trowa from the corner of her eye, she let out a small sigh, barely noticing as Trowa turned around to make sure he didn´t burn the eggs.

"What are you wondering about?" she asked finally, hoping he wasn´t going to demand for much.

Trowa brought her the omelet and sat down beside her. "What are you willing to share?" he returned.

Usagi shrugged. "I´m not sure of what´s going on myself. I know you know that I´m not what Lady Une, or even my dad for that matter, thinks I am.," she answered. "But I´m not going to confirm or deny that."

Trowa ran through their conversation quickly in his mind as she started to devour her breakfast. He knew that she´s really said nothing at all, but she does know what he thought of her, which is more than what he suspected she could do. The question, however, wasn´t what her abilities were. He had no doubt in his mind that she knew more than she let on, but he wondered what she would do with that knowledge.

Seeing the look on his face, Usagi took a sip of her milk and swallowed her food. "I´m not dangerous in the sense you´re thinking," she informed him.

Trowa looked at her sharply, causing Usagi to smile in amusement.

"Prove it," he commanded quietly.

_Prove it?_ Usagi thought. How was she supposed to do that? Materialize a crystal ball and show him the future? She herself didn´t know what would happen in her life next. The only thing she knew was her past. Past. . . of course. She reached into waistband and pulled out the gun she had decided to keep on her since yesterday night. Immediately, she found herself staring into the barrel of Trowa´s own weapon. She shrugged.

"No need to jump to conclusions. I would have been faster if I wanted to try something," she stated with a slight smile. "Here." She handed him the gun across the table, making him glance at it precariously, and then back at her before lowering and putting away his weapon.

"What´s this supposed to prove?" he asked her.

Before she could answer, the only eye she could see under his thick brown bangs widened a fraction of an inch. "This is Heero´s old gun," he answered himself.

Usagi nodded. "Is that good enough?" she questioned, holding out her hand to take it back.

"How´d you get it?" Trowa asked.

Usagi winced as she remembered. "I´d rather not talk about that. It shows that Heero trusts me. Is that good enough?" she repeated with a sigh.

Trowa handed the gun back, hoping his judgment wouldn´t fail him. As far as he knew, Heero would give away even less information than Usagi just did. But she did have his gun, and he hadn´t threaten her when she came. In addition, thanks to Duo, he also knew that Usagi most likely had Heero´s gun before the Perfect Soldier himself arrived. That only left him with the conclusion that the two must have known each other before. Heero´s appearance at the Preventers´ Office wasn´t an accident.

Usagi shifted uncomfortably under Trowa´s gaze. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head, trying to put together what he knew of her, and most likely, what happened to Heero when he went missing.

"If there´s nothing else, Trowa, can I go back to my room now?" she asked.

Trowa gave a nod as she almost ran from the kitchen. Under normal circumstances, he would have been required to follow her, to make sure she got to her room safely. But he doubted that he was needed, after the conversation they just had.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi walked quietly down the halls back to her room. Just as she was about to open her door, the sounds of someone else´s door reached her ears. She glanced up, and found herself staring into a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Good morning," she said quietly, after she had somehow managed to find her voice back.

"Hn," he grunted.

After a moment of silence between them, he added, "We need to talk."

He´d thought about a lot of things last night after Duo had left him alone. He had also considered the options available to him. There was only one that would satisfy all the conditions he set. Now, he just needed to put it into action.

Usagi nodded, wondering what he wanted to say. She signaled for him to follow her into her room, and shut the door after him. He remained silent, staring out her balcony window. Instead of waiting for him, she decided to speak up. "Heero, last night-"

"Didn´t happen," Heero interrupted.

"What?" Usagi asked, confusion clouding her eyes.

A pause followed her outburst. And when Heero turned to face her, she could read nothing in his eyes. They had gone as blank and as emotionless as the first time she saw them.

"Nothing I did or said last night meant anything," he clarified.

Usagi stared at him, unable to find the reply she wanted. "What do you mean?" she questioned him, slightly confused, and slightly hurt at the same time.

Internally, Heero wanted to smack himself for hurting her, yet again, but on the exterior, he showed nothing. No matter how much it hurt now, it wouldn´t be as bad as if he left this until they were truly attached to each other. He would do anything to keep her safe. She was the sole most important person in his life, and he was willing to suffer if it would give her a chance to find happiness in the future, the happiness that he could never bring her.

"You´re my mission," he answered in his famous monotone, forcing himself to harden his heart. "Nothing more, nothing less. When this is over, you´ll never see me again."

Before Usagi could say another word, he turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Usagi sank down on her bed, gripping the sheets in one hand. She didn´t understand him, not at all. He could turn his emotions on and off as though they were a lamp attached to a switch in the wall. She couldn´t. No matter how much he tried to pull away from her, no matter how much she knew he was hurting both himself and her, she couldn´t stop caring for him. She knew that a lot of people would tell her that such a heartless person wasn´t worthy of her. But she also knew that Heero wasn´t heartless. In fact, she had been able to see sides of him that probably no one else had ever seen. And she didn´t hate any of him, not the sweet and concerned person, not the indifferent, laptop-obsessed, slave driving teacher, not even the cold, emotionless soldier. She was trapped in his web, and she couldn´t get out of it. She couldn´t stop. . .loving him.

~*~*~*~*~

Heero walked past the other pilots´ rooms as quickly as possible. He slipped into his own room and shut the door, leaning against it. He couldn´t get the picture of Usagi´s pained eyes out of his head, and it was making it harder and harder to do what he had planned to. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. She did something to him, and the unfortunate thing was, he liked it. He didn´t want to like it. It would be a whole lot simpler if he disliked her. Mentally, he groaned before stalking over to his laptop.

Turning it on, he entered a few codes. Plans of a satellite cannon filled the screen. He had been secretly keeping track of anything that looked like military plans, because this time, he wanted to stop any war before it had a remote chance of happening.

Quickly, he ran through the well-laid-out plans for this cannon. Although it looked like a defense weapon, he felt that any possible threat needed to be examined carefully. This looked like it came from the head of a genius, someone who had the resources to build something like this, and having found it after hacking into a personal computer had made it worse. That was why he had arrived at the Preventers so quickly after he received their email. But considering that he found out it came from Usagi, he suspected that Lady Une didn´t know the existence of such plans for a cannon. And he didn´t want to bring chaos into their already busy world until he was sure it was a threat.

After a couple of hours of studying it, Heero gave a mental sigh. He had the plans if the cannon was ever put into action, but he didn´t know what to do with it at this point. He closed his eyes for a second, letting his thoughts drift for once. They seemed to refuse to cooperate with him and his plans, for they kept coming back to the person he currently wanted to forget.

He sat up straighter in his chair and reached out to enter a few complicated passwords into the laptop.

A compartment on the side of it gave a gentle _click_, and Heero pulled out the tiny drawer. Inside lay what looked like a journal. He flipped it open. There was no writing inside. No name, no pencil markings, nothing. The only thing in the book was pressed between its pages. The first was a marigold, the one that a little girl gave him when he was on a mission. An accident had occurred, and she had ended up dying in the explosion he caused. To this day, he couldn´t quite forgive himself for the mistake.

The second and only other object pressed between the pages, was a single white rose.

~*~*~*~*~

Duo woke up to the smell of fresh flowers, which was unusual. He frowned slightly in his sleep, no quite wanting to open his eyes yet.

A soft giggle was heard, and before Duo knew it, something, or rather, someone leap onto his bed and him, shaking his sleeping apparatus and making him bolt upright.

He found himself staring at a very giddy Minako, and when he looked at her, a little confused, she burst out laughing.

"Morning there, Duo!" Minako greeted cheerfully.

"Yea, morning Princess," Duo grumbled, rubbing his eyes a little. "Strange wake-up call."

Minako smiled wistfully. "Sorry," she answered softly. "I used to do it all the time to my parents, back when I was a kid. . . and when they were still here."

Her sudden change of attitude, combined with her words, fully awakened Duo. "When they were still here?" he echoed, hoping that she didn´t mean what he thought she meant. He hadn´t heard anything concerning her parents being. . .in the afterlife.

Minako nodded, raising her eyes to meet his. Strange, she had never ever talked about her parents to anyone, not even Usagi, and the two were as close as friends, cousins, and sisters could get. She just didn´t feel comfortable enough to talk about them with people. Then, why was she here, talking about her dead parents to a guy she met a few days ago?

As though sensing her confusion along with how sore the subject was, Duo reached out to her, and she went into his arms willingly. She felt so safe and warm when he wrapped his arms around her and held her. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed her. It had been awhile since she had felt like this. Every other guy paled in comparison to the current moment.

"You don´t have to talk about it if you don´t want to," Duo stated quietly, serious about the situation for once.

"No, I should," Minako replied. "It´s good to let things out, but I just haven´t found someone that I feel comfortable talking about this to. I know Usagi will understand me, but she doesn´t really. Do you know what I mean? She. . .Her parents are still alive."

"Yes," Duo stated firmly. He remained silent after that, feeling that Minako needed a little time to sort through her thoughts.

After another couple of minutes, she pulled back slightly, and Duo released her.

"It was when I was about fourteen," she began. "I don´t remember all the exact details. My doctor thinks my mind´s blocking it out because it hurts so much. My dad was a soldier, along with Usagi´s dad. And my mom was a nurse at a military base. The base was blown up that day, and the next day, Aunt Ikuko received a letter that told her my dad was missing in action, presumed dead."

Minako paused, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. Duo reached to brush away the ones rolling down her cheek, and she smiled gently at him. "I . . .I lost . . .lost them both," she whispered, "within 24 hours of each other."

Duo held her again as she sobbed into his nightshirt. Minako didn´t know why, but it felt like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She had placed her trust in an almost complete stranger, but she felt that it was the best decision she had made in her life. Her instincts told that this young man in front of her would never abandon her.

"At least you have memories," Duo stated quietly when her sobs and hiccups had stopped. "You remember what they look like, what they sound like, what their love feels like."

"Duo?" Minako inquired, looking up at the braided boy, who seemed to be lost within his own memories. When he looked at her, she could see his eyes glistening slightly, but he refused to let the tears fall.

"I´m a war-orphan," Duo told her. "I was out on the streets when I was four or five, lived off picking pockets and things like that. My best friend died when I was about seven, and I was taken to a church, the Maxwell Church."

He paused and Minako gasped slightly at the name. Duo nodded in confirmation. "Yep," he answered her unasked question. "I have no idea what my name is. My best friend who died, his name was Solo. And when I failed to get him the medicine he needed for his sickness, he told me he´d always watch over me. So, I named myself Duo. Because of the war at the time, the people who took care of me at the church were killed by soldiers. Then, I picked up the name Maxwell."

He suddenly released Minako and got out of the bed, walking to the bathroom.

"Duo," Minako called out, "what´s wrong?"

Duo shuffled his feet at the doorway. He´d never been nervous around girls before. He had always figured that no one would want to be close to him anyway. He was Shinigami, the God of Death. Anyone he was ever close to ended up dying or leaving him, one way or another. But with Minako, he was unsure. He wanted to let her in, but he also wanted to protect her. Much like he had seen the chemistry between his best friend and Usagi, he felt something much like a spark between himself and Minako. If he let her in though, would she leave him too? And why did he trust her enough to tell her all that?

Suddenly, he felt her arms wrap around his waist from behind, and her head was pressed against his shoulder.

"I won´t leave you," she promised.

Duo blinked. "How did you know?" he questioned, turning to face her.

"Because I felt the same when my parents passed away," she answered. "I didn´t know whether I could call Usagi´s family my own, and I shied away from my friends for months. I was so afraid they´d leave me the way my parents did."

Duo debated quietly to himself. He had yet to tell her that he was one of the infamous Gundam pilots, but if she knew, she´d be in more danger than she already was for associating with him. But he knew his own emotions. He wouldn´t be able to push her away, the way Heero was able to. He took a deep breath. There was only one question left to ask then. "Minako, don´t you care that you know nothing about my past? That I know nothing about where I came from?" he asked, looking deep into her eyes to detect any doubt.

Minako shook her head, staring back at him. "I like you for you, not your past and what you did. As for your name and your childhood," she gave a shrug, "I couldn´t care less if you were named Humphrey Bob Smith Junior and grew up on a farm with the cows."

Duo burst out laughing, and soon, Minako laughed along. When they were finally able to control themselves, Duo grinned. "Well, I´m going to take a shower now. . .unless you want to join me?"

"No thanks. For some strange reason, it´s not appealing to me right now," Minako answered sarcastically with a smirk. Then, the smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Thanks for listening, Duo."

First, it had been a friendly flirting game, played on both sides by people with masks of happiness and air-headedness. Now, it was much more than that. They had found an understanding with each other.

She left the room, and Duo grinned. "Anytime, Princess. Anytime."

~*~*~*~*~

A man with jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes sat in front of his desk, scanning the Preventers´ files on his computer.

"Well, what do you know?" he drawled out. "So you´ve reappeared, Perfect Soldier."

He hacked through more of the files, smirking slightly to himself. The Preventers had good security, he´ll admit that. With the Gundam pilots themselves working for the organization, it would disappoint him if their passwords and codes were easy to crack. Then again, nothing was impossible to hack into, especially for him.

"Stolen plans for a cannon, huh?" he muttered. "A cannon would be of great use."

He brought up two pictures from his hard drive. One was an emotionless-looking boy with brown hair and Prussian blue eyes. The other was a cheerful girl. Her blond hair was tied into strange pigtails, but the man couldn´t care less what her hairstyle was. What was important was her relation to the boy.

He hit a switch on the phone on his desk. "The plan shall be put into action now," he announced.

A chorus of "yes, sir" answered him, and he smiled internally with satisfaction.

"The games starts now," he whispered, raising his glass of expensive wine to the pictures on the screen. "Don´t go soft yet, Heero Yuy. I have yet to see your skill."

~*~*~*~*~

"Yes," Lady Une answered through her transmitter. "I got them the best bodyguards there are. I told you that already, Kenji."

The man in the vid-com frowned. "I know that," he answered, rubbing his temple, "but I´m still worried."

"What is it that went wrong with your experiment anyway?" Une finally asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time. "I know you said that you think someone found the records to a defense weapon you´re working on, but you haven´t told me what it is."

Kenji thought for a minute. She was protecting his daughter and niece. He knew she had a right to know, but what would she say when she found out? He looked into the vid-com and through her eyes, he knew that if something happened, he should be held responsible for this, not the other Preventers, not his wife, not his daughter and niece.

"It was a satellite cannon, a defensive one. The plans were almost complete. I thought that with an automatic system in place, our job would be easier," he told Lady Une.

The former colonel of OZ let the information sink in. At this point, she knew there was no reason to blame the weapon developer. It wouldn´t make the situation better. Their primary concern, then, was to find out who had the information, and eliminate any copies of such an advanced weapon.

"We need to find out who has this information," she said to Kenji. "There is no reason I should blame you right now."

Kenji nodded. "I understand, but it is my fault. Any rectification that needs to be done though, I will do it," he stated firmly.

Une nodded. She had not chosen her weapon developer wrongly. He was a responsible man, willing to suffer the consequences of his actions. He was also a genius in his field of work. His only quirk, Une thought with a smirk threatening her lips, was his daughter and niece´s love lives. And she had assigned five men to be their bodyguards. The irony of the situation amused her slightly, despite the fact that the situation itself was very serious.

"Would you like to come down to headquarters?" Une asked. "I think we need to analyze the details of your cannon. That way, we´ll have a bit of a head start on a counterattack, should an enemy decide to use it."

Kenji frowned. "Are you sure my presence in the Sanq Kingdom would not endanger my daughter and my niece´s lives?" he questioned.

"Not at all," Une replied. "As I´ve told you, we have the best bodyguards we can find for them. Plus, we may need you to explain some of the more complicated things in your plans."

"Alright then," Kenji answered with a smile and a nod. "My wife would be ecstatic to see Usagi and Minako again." 

Une smiled back. "Your flight takes off early tomorrow morning," she informed her employee. "See you later tomorrow afternoon."

**********************************************************************

End of Chapter 5.

AN: Review!! PLEASE!!! I worked really hard to get this chapter done. Please review! And a very happy holidays to everyone out there! See you next year!


	7. Chapter 6: Visitors

Silent Waltz by Comet~Princess 

Disclaimer: If I owned either Sailormoon or Gundam Wing, Wufei would have a sore throat from the times I´ve made him yell out "Maxwell." 

AN: *gasp* It´s another chapter! And guess what? More insight to Heero and Usagi´s past! There´s two flashbacks in here! They´re in italics, and should be pretty easy to identify. ^_^ Methinks you´ll like the second better than the first. I do. ^_~ Happy Chinese New Year to all those who celebrate out there! And a happy Valentine´s Day to everyone! ^_^ 

Warnings: Mamoru-bashing? I prefer OOC, but I know some people would consider it bashing. 

Ken-chan: No. I´ll give that much away. I try to be original in my plots. If you´ve seem something done more than 3 times already, chances are, I won´t have that in my plot. 

Purr-chan: It wasn´t that long a wait. . . ^^""" And you shall get your answer in this chapter! 

Mei-chan: It´ll clear up as you keep reading, though I wasn´t trying to confuse you there. ^^""" 

Midnight Lady: In all honestly, I don´t hate Mamoru. I actually like him in the manga. I´m indifferent to him in the anime though. And, as I told Himiko-chan, my goal in this story is not so that you´ll hate Mamoru. In fact, I want to portray him such that you can come out of this story NOT hating Mamoru, despite the fact that he may play the bad guy. There have been instances, when characterization is done well, that the viewer doesn´t hate the bad guy, like Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 and Zechs in Gundam Wing. I´ve read many fics where Mamoru is a wimpy bad guy who lusts after Usagi and her power, and I´m determined to break that cliché. I know that probably wasn´t a satisfying answer, and the only thing I can say without giving the rest of the plot away is that this will be different from what you´ve seen in other fics. If you want a story where Mamoru is nice, then *warning: shameless self-promotion* you can try Crystal Fantasy. It´s still Heero/Usagi, but Mamoru will be nice in it. 

Thanks to Himiko-chan for prereading, SilverRay-chan and Purr-chan for their constant encouragement, and Chibi Tenshi-chan for our many yaps and talks. ^_^ 

Timeframe: Bah, I don´t remember anymore. 

You´re probably ready to kill me for all that talking now. So, here´s the fic before you do kill me. ^^""" 

***************************************************** 

Chapter 6 - Visitors 

***************************************************** 

_Heero walked up the front steps of his tiny cottage, located away from the town. He carried with him a bag of groceries that he had just gotten on his trip into the town. Glancing up briefly, he noticed an envelope tucked between the door and the doorframe. He yanked the envelope loose, and with his free hand, opened the door._

_As he put the groceries in the cabinet of his kitchen, Heero examined the envelope. He got an uneasy feeling just looking at it. It was blank, with no writing and no address. That meant that it was most likely delivered to his door. But no one knew where he had gone after the war. And the people he had met in this town were few and far in between. The only person who could logically had left it for him was Usagi, and he knew she was in school between the time he left and the time he came back. _

_After staring at the envelope for another couple of minutes, Heero finally moved to open it. It was a simple note, but it sent chills down Heero´s spine and made him want to grab the gun he always kept on him. _

_"Heero Yuy, _

_How are you, Gundam pilot 01? I hope you do not have plans for tonight. I would like to meet you at Twin Peak tonight at midnight." _

_The note was unsigned. Not only that, but the sender knew his name and that he was a Gundam pilot. It was also typed, so Heero had no way of identifying the handwriting. He considered not going, because his feeling of dread was growing by the minute, but his training as a soldier was screaming that he needed to eliminate the one who knew his identity. _

_"Mission accepted," Heero stated, crumbling the note in one simple movement as he left to arm himself. _

_~*~ _

_The darkness of the night spread its arms across the sky. The blanket seemed to be extremely thick tonight, as not even the stars were visible. Twin Peak, a small hill in northern end of the town, stood tall and regal against the vast expanse of blackness. _

_A dark figure with tousled hair tried to keep a low profile as he approached the designated meeting place. His hand was kept at his waist, where one of his many guns was located. _

_"We shouldn´t need weapons between us, should we, Heero?" a clear voice came suddenly from the shadows. _

_Heero whirled around and trained his gun on the exact spot where the voice had come from. "Who are you and who do you work for?" he asked in monotone, his training returning to him. _

_The voice from the shadows laughed. "I see Dr. J trained his Perfect Soldier well," it replied. _

_Although Heero didn´t let his surprise show at the comment, he bristled slightly on the inside. Whoever this man was, he knew Dr. J and he knew Heero´s nickname as well. "Who are you?" he repeated. _

_"I thought you would certainly remember me," the voice answered with amusement. _

_The shadow stepped out of his hiding place, and Heero´s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Mamoru Chiba," the Perfect Soldier answered himself. _

_Mamoru chuckled. "You see? You do remember," he said nonchalantly. _

_"What do you want?" Heero asked coldly, not dropping his guard. _

_"Nothing," Mamoru replied with a smirk, "at least, nothing right now." _

_Heero narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn´t do anything for nothing," he answered. _

_"Your opinion of me?" Mamoru returned coolly. "It was certainly the bumbling doctor´s as well." _

_"And rightly so," Heero answered, releasing the safety on his gun. "I´m going to finish what should have been completed years ago." _

_Mamoru dodged the bullet that came from Heero´s gun. "You may want to stop that," he suggested, his voice as cold as Heero´s had been during the Eve Wars. "After all, your girlfriend is not as used to pain as you and I." _

_Heero froze in his position. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded. _

_"I see I have your attention now," Mamoru replied, his voice returning to its normal tone. "Well, you were wondering what I wanted, so I feel that it would be. . .courteous, shall we say, to answer an old friend." He made a slight gesture at Heero, and the Perfect Soldier slowly lowered his gun, understanding that he would get nothing unless he complied. _

_"I only wanted to comment that you´ve worked so hard to keep peace. Wouldn´t it be a shame if war was to come back? You´d have to leave what has become your home, and possibly the only person who has cared for you. Ah wait, is that care for you or love you?" Mamoru recited thoughtfully, his lips curling into a smirk again. _

_"None of your business," Heero gritted out. _

_Mamoru laughed. "Who said I gave a damn?" he asked with amusement lacing through his voice. "I´d watch the little bunny if I were you though. After all, J´s Perfect Soldier has many enemies, made both in his training years and during the war." _

_Heero pointed his gun at Mamoru and shot again, but once more, Mamoru dodged the bullet. This time, he disappeared into the shadows, the same as when Heero had first arrived on Twin Peak. _

_"Good seeing you again, Heero," Mamoru´s voice rang out, sarcasm dripping heavily from it. "Consider that. . .piece of advice, a gift, from an old friend." _

_The presence of discomfort that Heero had felt earlier slowly dissipated, and he knew Mamoru had left the area. However, that did not help to ease his lack of comfort. If anything, the situation was worse. Heero closed his eyes for a brief moment. He knew Usagi would be good enough against most people, but Mamoru was not "most people." Even Heero himself did not have absolute confidence that he could take out the black-haired man in a one-on-one fight. _

_So, everything had gone back to the question that plagued him when he had first gotten involved with the little bunny. Happiness? Or duty? _

Heero clenched the fist that was not holding on to the white rose as he replayed that moment in his mind. He had thought that he had dealt with that question when he had decided to leave the town. But of course, life just had to throw a wrench into his already painful life.

First, he had found plans for some kind of satellite cannon when he was keeping track of world events. Soon after making a copy of them for himself to analyze, he had received an email from Lady Une, saying that there was a "mission." Afraid that a new war would break out, he had immediately traveled to the Preventers´ Headquarters, only to find out that the "mission" was to protect Usagi, the girl he had tried to protect by leaving her side in the first place, and that it was she who had sent the email.

Letting out a sigh because no one was there to see him do it, the Perfect Soldier carefully tucked the rose back into the journal and placed the book into the little compartment in his laptop again.

To most people, flowers symbolized life and the good things in life. To him, those two flowers were his two mistakes in life.

~*~*~*~*~

"You did what?!" came the outburst from a man standing in front of the forever calm Lady Une´s desk.

Kenji Tsukino opened his mouth to say something else, but the words of his boss must have settled into his brain for a second time, for he snapped his mouth shut, and just gaped.

Une somehow managed to suppress the grin that threatened to appear on her face. She had expected as much from the man she employed as the Preventers´ weapon developer, but the reality of the situation was still amusing.

Kenji´s wife, Ikuko, however, didn´t bother to conceal her mirth. Her eyes twinkled with merriment, and for a brief moment, Une could see a shadow of the woman´s daughter in her.

"I said," Une repeated, "that I assigned five guys who are around nineteen to be their bodyguards."

Kenji continued to stare, and finally broke out of his trance when his wife slapped him hard in the back. "But you said you got them the best bodyguards you can find!" he argued.

"They are the best bodyguards in the world," Une replied with firmness.

"Five nineteen years old boys?!" Kenji practically screeched in disbelief. "I thought you were talking about fifty years old men who would take my command to keep their hands off my daughter and my niece!!!"

"Dear, I´m sure it´s not the situation you´re making it out to be," Ikuko tried to soothe her husband.

"What makes them so special anyway," Kenji muttered, still unable to believe he had left Usagi and Minako to the care of five boys for any amount of time.

Une cleared her throat. "Kenji, I assure you that they are honorable young men who have the ability to protect Usagi and Minako," she explained. "If you must know, they were trained for the war. They aren´t just five people I picked off the street."

"How come they were trained?" Kenji grumbled. He didn´t trust them for a moment, best at what they did or not.

"That´s not my story to tell," Une replied, shooting a meaningful look in her employee´s direction which clearly meant, if you want to know, you´d have to ask them yourself.

Ikuko´s mind went to work. _During the Eve Wars, the boys would have been fifteen. Five of them so young, trained for war, the best in the art of protection missions. . ._ Her eyes widened and she turned to Lady Une. "Oh my! It can´t be!" she exclaimed.

Une gave the other woman a wry smile, nodding her head. Kenji may be so hard-headed that he refused to put the five men in any light but his own, but his wife certainly caught on quickly. Ikuko broke into a wide smile. "Dear, you have no need to worry at all," she told Kenji.

"I still don´t trust them with my two babies," he mumbled back. "I hope they´re all ugly."

This time, Une succumbed to her laughter. She may be too old herself for the five ex-Gundam pilots, but that didn´t mean she was blind. She just hoped Kenji wouldn´t be too disappointed with his prediction.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi stared blankly at her own lap, replaying the events yesterday morning in her head. Since then, she hadn´t spoken to Heero. She saw him, sure, but his manner of talking was cold and indifferent. Even though the sharp sparks of attraction were still flying between them, and Duo never failed to make one comment or another on that, Heero continued to push her away. She didn´t know why though. In his eyes, she could see that he still cared, but if she tried to confront him, the masks would always be back.

The blond haired girl gave a soft sigh and felt for the gun he gave her, which was now kept at her waist.

_I need to get out of this room before I go insane,_ she thought sardonically to herself.

She looked between the door to her temporary bedroom and the balcony. Quatre didn´t know about her ability to defend herself, so he was probably still waiting or guarding her door. That left her with choice two. She had asked for a balcony because she always felt a sense of comfort when she looked at the moon and stars. Why? Usagi closed her eyes.

_"Heero!" Usagi whined as she was slowly dragged up what she thought was a hill. She didn´t know for sure because she was blindfolded, thanks to the Perfect Soldier._

_"Aren´t we impatient?" came the teasing reply, a tiny bit of amusement in his usually emotionless voice. "It´s just a little more." _

_"This had better be worth it," she grumbled in reply. _

_Usagi could swear she felt him smirk at her remark. Why had she let herself be blindfolded and dragged out here? . . .Oh right. She had accused him of not having a single romantic bone in his body, and he had decided to set out and prove her wrong. She couldn´t say she was sorry though. True, she had had to make sure that the rest of her family was busy so that he could actually pick her up, instead of having to go to his place wearing her current outfit, which consisted of a long, sleeveless, white Chinese-style dress with gold embroidery of dragons and long slits up both sides. It was matched with a pair of white high heels, white satin gloves, and a pair of gold bangles that her parents had given her on her sixteenth birthday. Her hair was in her usual odangoes, but decorated with barrettes. That ensemble, in itself, had taken her a good two hours to put together, but the really hard part had been convincing Minako to go to the school´s football game without her, since they usually went together. Her parents were at a dinner party, so they hadn´t been too hard to get out of the house. Despite all this preparation time though, the evening had been worth the effort. In fact, just the look on Heero´s face when she had opened the door had been worth it. While he himself didn´t look bad at all wearing a crisp, white shirt and navy blue pants and jacket that brought out the colour of his eyes, she knew he had spent at least five minutes staring at her. In fact, she was sure he would have spent longer than that if she hadn´t snapped him out of it. _

_Usagi suppressed a giggle as she remembered their evening so far. She wouldn´t say that she was wrong when she had made the accusation, but she had to admit that she wasn´t right either. The corrected statement would be that Heero Yuy didn´t have a romantic bone in his body. . .unless he wanted to have that bone. _

_She felt him stop and walk around her, gently reaching out to untie the blindfold he had insisted she put on. When she longer had the restrain around her eyes, she slowly blinked a few times, letting everything come into focus. When they finally did, she let out a gasp. Below her, the city twinkled and winked at her, its lights illuminating the night, creating an almost magical glow about it. _

_"Worth it?" she heard Heero´s voice ask her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head. _

_"Yes," Usagi replied softly. "It´s beautiful." _

_"Tell me that after you look up," he commanded. _

_Usagi obeyed and let her eyes leave the sight of the city lights. She was met with an uncountable number of sparkling stars above her, each gleaming more brightly than the last, as though they were trying to outshine the others. Usagi couldn´t say anything. She just stared. _

_"Well?" Heero prompted her. _

_"I. . .I don´t know what to say," Usagi admitted. _

_"That´s a first," Heero replied. _

_When she turned to glare at him, she caught his smirk. "Oh, you!" she grumbled, stomping her foot on the ground. She looked back up at the sky, and Heero caught a streak of sadness passing through her eyes. _

_"What´s wrong?" he asked. _

_"I´m just thinking," Usagi started, "don´t you think the stars are lonely? They´re all by themselves out there somewhere, very, very far away from all the other stars. I wouldn´t be able to be by myself for so long." _

_Heero looked thoughtful as he tried to provide an explanation for his angel. He wasn´t great at this romantic stuff, and he didn´t want to ruin the entire evening for her by saying something wrong. After a few minutes, he walked to her and gently lifted her chin up so that her eyes met his. "They´re not lonely," he stated. "Maybe they aren´t with each other in physical form, but they´re together in spirit. They have memories of each other to live on." _

_Usagi broke into a slow smile. "I didn´t know you can be so insightful," she teased him. "So, are you telling me that, if one day, we are millions of miles apart, that we will be together in spirit?" _

_Heero shrugged. "Maybe. But if one day, we are millions of miles apart, look at the stars. Somewhere out there, I´ll be looking at the same ones," he answered. _

_He leaned down and kissed her lips, tasting the sweet wine she had to offer. Her eyes closed, and she lost herself in his embrace, allowing the fire within them to take over. She would never forget that night, nor his words._

Usagi wiped away the tears that she hadn´t realized she had been shedding. From that night on, she had watched the stars from her balcony every night. Minako had found it to be a strange habit, but never asked for an elaboration. For that, Usagi was very grateful. She owed Minako a lot: her friendship, her understanding, her compassion. She´ll tell Minako everything someday, just not now.

Glancing at the door once more, Usagi turned and snuck out the balcony, climbing down the three stories. She walked towards the woods, needing fresh air and a little time to think. She knew there was more to Heero´s story than what he was telling her. He still loves her, that much she guessed, but what was keeping him away? What was he not telling her? It was the missing piece of the puzzle. It was the reason he had left those months ago, and the reason he was pushing her away now.

She was so deep in thought that she never noticed the dark figure who held a tiny communicator following her, somehow having snuck past the front gates of Quatre´s well-protected mansion.

~*~*~*~*~

"Oh my!" Ikuko exclaimed as she stared at the large mansion in front of her. "And you thought they were being deprived, dear!"

If looks could kill, Quatre´s mansion would have burnt to a crisp under the glare Kenji was giving it. So far, his employer seemed to have made a perfect choice in picking bodyguards for his daughter and niece, and he was not liking it one bit.

The iron gates opened slowly when Lady Une informed Quatre that it was she who was at his door. The party of three drove up the long driveway in Une´s car, coming to a stop when they reached a circular part with a marble fountain in the middle. A large man with brown hair accompanied a younger man with platinum blond hair down the front steps to greet them.

"Lady Une," the blond haired one addressed politely. "What brings you here today?"

Une smiled and gestured to the two adults behind her. "Quatre, this is Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino, Usagi´s parents. Kenji, Ikuko, Quatre Rabarba Winner, one of the young man I assigned as a bodyguard for your daughter and niece," she introduced.

Quatre turned to the two with a smile. "It´s nice to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino," he greeted. "Please come in. I´m sure Usagi and Minako would be thrilled to see you."

He turned to lead them up the stairs, and Ikuko faced her husband. "I like him," she whispered. "He´s very polite and nice."

"He doesn´t look like he can protect my children," Kenji grumbled, determined to find something wrong with every single one of the boys.

Ikuko sighed. This was going to be a long day. Quatre led the two parents and Lady Une into a cozy sitting room and asked the maid to bring some tea and snacks in.

"I´ve sent the man with me earlier, Rashid, to get the rest of the guys, your daughter and your niece," Quatre informed Kenji and Ikuko with a kind smile. "They should-"

He was interrupted by a loud shout of "Maxwell! Onna!"

". . .be here really soon," Quatre finished with an exasperated sigh before standing up to open the door. As soon as he did, three blurs ran past him, a blond and orange one, a brown and black one, and a black and white one.

"Easy there, Wu-man," the braided boy said as he hid behind the armchair that Lady Une was sitting in. A girlish giggle followed his comment.

"I told you not to call me Wu-man! It´s Wufei! Wufei!" the Chinese boy yelled.

Quatre cleared his throat, drawing the three teenagers´ attention to him. "If you haven´t noticed," he reprimanded gently, "we have guests."

"Hey there, Lady Une!" Duo greeted heartily when he realized who was sitting in the armchair. The woman nodded at him, her eyes clearly showing her amusement at the predicament Duo had gotten himself into. "Yo, Mister and Madam!" Duo extended the greeting. "Do you know why the turkey crossed the road?"

Kenji glared at the jokester. Ikuko smiled, thinking that this was certainly a cheerful boy for an ex-Gundam pilot. Wufei snorted at the overused joke while Quatre buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Minako smacked Duo in the back of the head.

"Hey! What´d you do that for, Princess?" Duo complained, rubbing the back of his head.

"That´s my uncle and aunt!" she hissed.

"Oh. . ." Duo trailed off. He looked at the set of parents nervously. "Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino."

"Chang Wufei and Duo Maxwell," Une stated, pretending nothing unusual had happened.

Ikuko smiled, taking a liking to the cheerful boy who her niece seemed to like as well. Kenji, however, looked as though he was about to blow up. "What did you call my niece?" he demanded, growling under his breath.

"Uh. . .Princess?" Duo replied weakly. Now he knew why Minako and Usagi seemed to be immune to Heero´s death glares. Mr. Tsukino had one that easily matched up to the Perfect Soldier´s. As his mind went along that train of thought, he slowly broke into a maniacal grin. He looked impatiently at the door. If only Heero would get here.

"There is nothing funny about that name!" Kenji practically yelled. "You keep your hands to yourself! If you touch my niece, I will. . .I will. . . Ikuko, where´s my shotgun?"

"At home, dear," Ikuko replied sweetly. "It was too heavy to carry, so I took it out of the bag."

Minako stifled a giggle. She would have to remember to thank her aunt later. She looked up at the older woman, and blushed slightly when she winked. It was obvious that she knew Duo was more than just Minako´s bodyguard.

"Great, someone else who wants to shoot me. As if having Heero wanting to kill me every other hour isn´t bad enough," the loudmouthed Duo muttered.

Kenji heard this, and looked up from his own brooding. "Does this Heero have a gun?" he asked darkly.

"Yep," Wufei informed the man with a smirk. "Yuy has a gun every second of the day." Anyone who was willing to join his campaign in killing the braided pilot was a good man in his book.

Kenji nodded, and quieted down, although he was still unhappy about the arrangement. He thought that perhaps he would like this Heero fellow. He carried a gun, which meant that he would at least be able to protect his daughter and niece, to a certain extend. And if he wanted to kill the boy who was hitting on his niece, that was an additional bonus. (AN: *laughs* I love irony! ^_~)

It was then that the Perfect Soldier decided to make his appearance. He stalked into the room, glaring darkly at nothing in particular. He had not been in a good mood for the past couple of days. His eyes scanned the room quickly, and when they rested on Kenji and Ikuko, slight surprise showed in his eyes before he covered it up. No one in the room noticed. He acknowledged them with a nod, and internally smirked to himself. If Usagi knew how he was greeting her parents on their first meeting, she would either hit him or glare at him. Almost immediately, that thought was cleared from his mind. He had given her up. She was no longer his, and she would never be his again. Heero felt a sharp pain in his heart at that thought, but he quickly pushed that away. He was not selfish enough to put her in danger for his own happiness.

"These are Usagi´s parents, Heero," Quatre said.

Heero grunted and stood against the wall. Kenji examined this new addition to the group thoughtfully. He didn´t look like another one of those hormone-driven teenagers. No, in fact, this boy radiated ice, so cold that it was almost scary. Duo and Minako both watched this exchange in interest. They both knew that there were a lot of sparks between Heero and Usagi. In addition, Kenji seemed to have a fondness for his shotgun, and there was no need to say that Heero loved his own gun.

After a few minutes of silence, Kenji gave a slight nod. He wasn´t completely satisfied with the group, but for now, he´ll agree to having them as Usagi and Minako´s bodyguards.

"Well?" Une prompted her employee. "Do you still feel a need to replace them with fifty year old men, Kenji?"

"Hmp," Kenji grunted. "They were all supposed to be ugly, but I´ll overlook that. They´ll do for now."

All four guys raised their eyebrows at this comment. Ikuko and Une laughed heartily while Minako just stared in shock. She wasn´t quite sure whether to be grateful that her uncle wasn´t going to replace them, or horrified that he had wanted to get rid of these guys just because they weren´t hideous.

A knock on the door interrupted them. When the group looked up, a tall man with gravity-defying bangs was standing in the doorway. Quatre looked questioningly at him, but the young man merely walked up to Heero, handing him a white envelope that he had been carrying.

"She wasn´t in her room," the man with the bangs informed the Perfect Soldier. He didn´t fail to see the streak of worry that passed quickly through Heero´s eyes.

While everyone else looked on, Heero took the white envelope and examined it. He paled very slightly, a sudden flashback of a similar incident with an envelope hitting him dead on. He quickly turned the envelope over. On the front was typed _For J´s Perfect Soldier_.

***********************************************************************

End of Chapter 6.

AN: Guess what? While I was talking to Chibi Tenshi, she mentioned something and I suddenly thought of a POSSIBLE (not definite) idea as a sequel to Angel in Disguise. ^_^ However, I´ll definitely finish up this fic and Crystal Fantasy first. Anywho, just so you know the latest development in my mind for fics. Now, REVIEW!!! Please and lots of thanks!


	8. Chapter 7: Aftermath

Silent Waltz by Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: Minako did better than Ami in school. Quatre kicked guests out of his house, and Duo ran into a thorn bush. (Happy now, SilverRay-chan?) That ought to show you what Sailormoon or Gundam Wing would have been if I owned it. =P

AN: I shocked myself by getting off my lazy butt and typing this up. O.o Just a quick (and big) thank you to all the people who have stuck by me and still kept reading. *hugs* You guys are the best! ^_^ I´ve decided to finish this story before I write any of the others, one-shots included. So, maybe updates will actually be faster. (Yea, right, but I can hope.)

Warnings: Mamoru is OOC (or Mamoru-bashing) and sappy sweet romance between Minako and Duo. Mad Kenji-papa on the loose.

sakura-li: Not as far I´ve planned. Just Minako, Usagi, and Mamoru will be in here. 

Kae: His shotgun´s back home, on the colony. =P Too bad for Kenji-papa. Yea right, just wait till you read this part. 

Midnight Lady: I´m glad you don´t hate me. ^^ No boyfriend gone bad here. Don´t worry about that. 

Akiko-chan: WHERE ARE YOU? 

Bluejello: You shall find out. ^^ 

sele, Meghan Reamer: Honestly, they´re already 10 pages per chapter on Word. -_-;;; I´m going to die if I have to make them longer. ^^""" Or you´ll be waiting for a LONG time.

Mei-chan: *runs and hides* Yea, I have been really bad about updating. ^^"""

MooCow: -_-;;; Yea, you can have Duo. But you´ll have to find him first. *points to collection of bishie* He escaped my harem awhile back. =)P

Fenikkusu o Kiri: *big hugs* Quick reference to "I Promise." I´m so glad someone agrees with me on the ending. Don´t worry. No sequel planned. And speaking of "Crystal Fantasy," I´m actually going to finish this one before I continue any others. Sorry.

~ * ~ Firefly Princess ~ * ~ : LOL! Someone noticed that last note! ^^ I have some scenes written already, so I think I´m actually going to write it, but this has to be done first.

For my friends who entertained me while I was writing this ^_~ , Mei-chan, Purr-chan, SilverRay-chan, and Chibi Tenshi-chan. Big huggles to you all.

**********************************************************

Chapter 7 - Aftermath

**********************************************************

Usagi groaned as she felt herself coming to. Her head weighed a ton, and it throbbed painfully when she gingerly touched the back of it. What in the world had happened? She had been walking in the woods behind Quatre´s mansion, and the next thing she remembered was pain in the back of her head, a pair of remorseful eyes, and then, complete darkness. She would guess that the owner of those eyes had hit her in the back of the head, and she had fainted.

Mentally, Usagi scolded herself. It had been the first thing Heero had ever taught her: be alert. She sighed, and looked around. She was surprised at what she saw. She wasn´t in a prison cell of some sort. It wasn´t cold, dark, and damp, as she had expected.

The small room was painted white, with a beige coloured carpet. It held a single bed, on which she was now sitting, a wooden desk, and a dresser. A tiny window was located on the opposite wall from her bed, letting in just enough light to tell whether it was day or night. The only thing that would have given away the fact that she was a prisoner, was the metal door which no doubt led to the main area of the building.

"Where am I?" she asked out loud as she surveyed the room, looking for an escape route of some sort.

"Ah, I see you´ve woken up," came a deep voice from the doorway.

Usagi jumped at the sound, and instinctively pulled the covers up to her chin.

The man in doorway looked at her reaction and chuckled, amused. His ebony hair was brushed neatly, and his midnight blue eyes held a glint that made her back away from him. A dark trenchcoat hung around his shoulders like a cloak, and Usagi could see his black shirt and pants.

"Check your clothes," he commented lightly, not missing her eyes seizing him up. "I would have done something already if that was what I wanted from you."

Usagi did as he suggested, and found that he hadn´t even remove her coat from her. Curiously, she looked at him. From the looks of it, she may be able to cause enough damage to run past him.

The man seemed to miss nothing though. "Don´t even think about it," he stated, his voice suddenly dry and cold. "I have no intention of hurting you, but if you don´t follow my orders, I won´t guarantee your life."

Usagi was taken aback. If he didn´t want to hurt her, then what did he want? "What do you want from me then?" she asked.

The man smirked. "So you don´t know about me?" he stated rather than questioned. He should have known that the Perfect Soldier wouldn´t tell anyone his dark past.

Usagi frowned, racking her brain. "Am I supposed to?" she returned. She didn´t think she would forget someone such as the man in front of her. He was handsome, she supposed, but that wasn´t what stood out about him. He had a charisma about him, a strong feeling of control and calmness. At the same time, his eyes reflected a sadistic and cynical outlook to the life he was granted.

"Mamoru Chiba," he introduced himself, giving her a mock bow. "And you?"

Usagi clamped her mouth shut. Did this man think she was insane? He had just kidnapped her, and he wanted her to tell him her name? She gave him a glare, the one she had picked up from Heero.

Mamoru´s eyes narrowed. "I´ll tell you this once," he warned her, "don´t look at me like that. In fact, do anything that reminds me of him, and you´ll regret it."

"What?" Usagi uttered, her eyes turning confused. She replayed what he had said in her mind.

_Don´t look at me like that. _

_. . .reminds me of him. . ._

Her head snapped to attention, and her sapphire eyes bored into his, as though she was reading his soul. "What did you do to Heero?" was the only thing that she could think of to ask.

"J´s Perfect Soldier?" he replied, waiting for her reaction.

She frowned. How did this man know Dr. J and Heero´s nickname? "Yes," she answered. "What did you do to him?!"

Mamoru smirked. It looked as though Heero had told her more than he thought. "Nothing," he responded, "at least, nothing yet."

Usagi´s eyes hardened. She reached for the gun she had decided to keep on her. Anyone who was going to hurt Heero would have to deal with her. Even if he was pushing her away, she still loved him too much to watch him suffer. She blinked in surprise when she found it missing from her waist.

Mamoru laughed out loud this time. "The fact that I didn´t undress you doesn´t mean I didn´t disarm you," he informed her, taking out the gun she recognized so well from the pocket of his coat.

"Give it back!" she cried out, leaping up from the bed. It was his last gift to her, from a time when they were both so carefree and openly in love with each other. She couldn´t lose it.

She ran to him and tried desperately to tackle him and take it back, but Mamoru was too fast. He dodged her attempted punches and kicks easily, all the while observing her. There was no doubt about it. Heero had taught her how to fight. He ducked once more, her fist missing him only by a few inches. She was probably slower than the Perfect Soldier, and her current frustration was blinding her from executing the moves properly, but the style was similar.

Mamoru jumped back a good few metres from her. She dropped into a fighting stance, and he raised an eyebrow. "Tell me something, Usagi, why are you so determined to get this back?" he questioned. "You seem to be doing pretty well without it."

Usagi frowned again. She hadn´t told him her name. That much, she knew. "How did you know my name?" she demanded.

"Answer my question, and I´ll answer yours," Mamoru replied calmly.

Usagi hesitated. If Mamoru wanted to hurt Heero, was it such a good idea to tell him that she wanted the gun he held in his hand back because it was Heero´s gift to her? She debated with herself. "It. . .it was a token of someone´s affection for me," she finally said.

Mamoru smirked. "So the Perfect Soldier gave his love his gun," he finished the thought. "How touching. I should have guessed."

He easily unloaded the gun, and tossed the harmless weapon to her. Usagi caught it, surprised that he had given it back after he had found out.

"You can keep it for now," he answered her unasked question, "but I may decide to take it back, if you refuse to cooperate."

"Now, you answer my question," she replied, putting the gun back where it belonged.

He walked up to her, giving a chilling glare for daring to interrogate him, but Usagi didn´t back down. She didn´t even back up when he was standing right in front of her. Now, she noticed that he was at least a foot taller than her, even taller than Heero. He leaned down, his face inches from hers, but she didn´t relent. She´ll find out how he knew her, and why he wanted to hurt the person she loved the most.

"I know everything about J´s Perfect Soldier," he hissed, his breath in her face. "And you´re a part of him, so I know about you."

"How do you know Heero? And why am I here?" she continued, pushing her fear of him aside.

He smirked again. "I can see why he´s so taken with you, why he loves you so much," he said, ignoring her questions. "You´re the perfect combination of spunk and innocence. A rare gem in the cruel world, the only one that can melt even a heart frozen for over fifteen years."

Without warning, he closed the last of the space between them and kissed her. Usagi´s eyes widened in shock, and she pushed against his chest with both of her hands, using all her strength. When he broke the kiss, she slapped him across the face, hard.

"Don´t touch me," she responded, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket.

Mamoru looked at her, a fire of fury in his eyes. "Why not?" he answered in monotone. "As far as I can see, the person you care about the most is pushing you away. He´s given up on you. He doesn´t want you. Why are you still so loyal him?"

Usagi backed away from him, tears filling her eyes. That was cruel. Her heart bled painfully at his words. Was it true? She closed her eyes, running over her more current memories of him.

_Her meeting with him at the Preventers, when he had kissed away her tears. The familiar feel of his lips brushing over hers. . . ._

_"Don´t cry for me. I´m not worth your tears." _

_"I made you into another soldier." _

_"I chose to become one." _

_"You shouldn´t have to be one." _

_The gentle way he had kissed her palm afterwards. . . . _

_The streaks of caring that she had seen in his eyes every time she caught him looking at her, even though he had said she was just his mission. . . ._

Her eyes opened, and she glared at Mamoru once again. "He loves me," she told him in a voice that refused to accept anything he would tell her otherwise. "But that makes no difference. I refuse to be with someone else because I love Heero. He´s the only one I´ll ever love. And true love is worth everything there is in the world."

"Really," Mamoru muttered, examining her once more. He didn´t understand. "Why waste so much effort on one man? This love that you speak of is nothing but an illusion."

"If it is, then it´s one I want to stay in forever," she answered softly, her eyes growing gentle and faraway.

Mamoru´s eyes became darker than their usual colour, his fury hiding his confusion. He stalked out of the room in silence, slamming the metal door behind him. Usagi´s words echoed in his head. Why? Why do people, like that girl, and even the Perfect Soldier, succumb to something that doesn´t exist, the only emotion that caused everyone´s downfall, including his own?

"Sir!" a soldier´s voice called out, saluting him in the middle of the long hallway.

Mamoru gave a nod. "News?" he demanded, his face losing all its confusion suddenly.

"Letter delivered. Mansion kept on surveillance, but no movement yet," the soldier reported.

"Keep on guard," Mamoru commanded, "and report any movement to me immediately."

The soldier saluted again and left Mamoru to his thoughts. He had no doubt that Heero would come. From the looks of it, Heero really cared about the girl, so much that he was lost in the fantasy called love. Of course, that was the entire reason why he had his people kidnap Usagi. Military power spoke louder than any other kind of power, even political power. He wanted those cannon plans. . .in exchange for the Perfect Soldier´s object of affection.

~*~*~*~*~

The sun was starting to set, sending splashes of pink and violet across the sky. Yet, for all the beauty it was reflecting, Minako still could not forget the loss she had suffered yesterday. Her heart had pounded furiously when Heero had opened the letter, and when she had found out that her cousin and best friend was missing, she could swear that the pain of her parents´ death had come back to haunt her, cutting into her heart more deeply than before. Was she destined to have everyone she was close to die?

"Hey," a soft voice snapped her out of her reverie.

Minako looked up to see Duo standing next to the bench she was sitting on. "Hey," she answered softly.

He took that as an invitation to sit down beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

"No," she responded. She turned to him, her eyes filling with tears. "How could that have happened?! I should have been with her! My room was right next to hers, and I knew that she was upset. I should have stayed with her. Instead, I went running around Quatre´s house. What kind of friend am I?"

Duo wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her close to him as she sobbed into his chest. "Look," he began reasonably, "Usagi didn´t want us to be with her in her room. This is nobody´s fault."

"But-"

"No buts," Duo interrupted, cutting her off. "Quatre thinks it´s his fault because he was supposed to be guarding her. Wufei´s telling himself he´s weak. Since I´m with you, he should have looked out for Usagi too. Trowa´s not saying anything, but I can tell he feels he´s responsible one way or another. Mrs. Tsukino thinks that if she and Mr. Tsukino didn´t come, this wouldn´t have happened. Even Lady Une is blaming herself, even though she hasn´t said anything. Stop it, Minako. You´re the least at fault. It was mine and the guys´ mission to protect you. You didn´t have to watch out for Usagi. We should have."

Minako´s sobs slowly became quieter as she listened to his explanation. "Well, that´s not everyone," she mumbled into his chest.

"Sure it is," Duo replied. "Who did I miss?" 

"Heero. At least he´s not blaming himself," Minako answered. 

Duo winced. "You have no idea, Minako," the braided boy responded, his eyes taking on a faraway look.

"What do you mean?" Minako asked, her curiosity peaked.

"You know how we always thought there were sparks between Heero and Usagi?" Duo started. When she nodded, he continued, "I think there´s more than that."

Minako frowned. "That´s impossible. Usagi hasn´t even dated for the past two years," she informed him. "She admitted to me once that she was attracted to him, but that´s hardly anything more."

"I didn´t think so either. I mean, I knew he liked her, but he´s the Perfect Soldier. It´d be a cold day in hell before he fell in love," Duo muttered. "You haven´t seen him in the past 24 hours though."

Minako thought back to when Heero had first opened the note. His reaction had scared her. He had read it, then paled visibly. But before anyone could ask what the note said, he had crumpled it up. His eyes, when he turned to face Lady Une, had held an anger so strong, even the normally calm leader of the Preventers had looked wary of doing anything out of the ordinary around him. Minako and Duo, having hidden behind Une´s chair, had shrank back even further. His Prussian blue depths glinted with a promise of death. He would never forgive the person who had kidnapped Usagi, especially if they had harmed her. But if she and Usagi were just missions, the reaction wouldn´t have been so strong. Was Duo right? As Minako thought this through, she realized that the question was no longer whether there was something going on between Heero and her cousin. There definitely was. The question was WHAT was going on between Usagi and Heero.

She turned to Duo. "How has he been in the past 24 hours?" she asked.

"Horrible," Duo answered. "He hasn´t eaten. I doubt he´s slept. What he´s doing locked up in his room is anyone´s best guess. Anyone who tries to disturb him is basically a dead man. Trust me, I´d know. I almost got my head blown off just now bringing him food. The only thing I know is that he´s using his laptop, since it was turned on and sitting on his desk."

Duo sighed as he looked up into the sky. As much as he teased Heero, the guy was still his best friend. He was worried, to say the least. "I wish we had cameras or something in Usagi´s room," he muttered, not really realizing he was speaking out loud. "Or someone who had known how the intruder got into and out of her bedroom."

Minako suddenly burst into tears again. Duo looked surprised, but tried to comfort her none the less. Instead she pushed him away and stood up. "Duo, I. . .I," she stuttered, "I think you should stay away from me."

She winced when she saw the sudden hurt in the braided boy´s eyes. "What? Why?" he asked, standing up next to her. "Did I hurt you? I didn´t mean to! I just say a lot of things without thinking."

Minako shook her head venomously. "No!" she choked out. "Haven´t you noticed? Everyone around me leaves. They die, or get kidnapped. I don´t want you to be hurt because of me."

Duo shook his head, making his long braid fly back and forth. "Even if I do get hurt because of you, I don´t care," he answered softly, his eyes looking at the girl in front of him tenderly. "Remember what you promised me? You said you wouldn´t leave me."

Minako nodded. "I know," she replied, her voice growing equally soft. "But do you want me to stay?"

Duo grinned. "Yes," he stated firmly. "And if you don´t, I´ll track you down and make you keep your promise."

Minako looked up and couldn´t help smiling back. His indigo eyes sparkled with relief. He walked up to her, slowly cupping her face with his hands so that she was looking up at him. Not another word was exchanged as Duo covered her soft lips with his, kissing her delicately. Minako felt her heart pound against her ribcage. This was so different than all the other kisses she had gotten before. It was feathery soft, yet, it conveyed his passion better a heated one would have. If only she could stay in this moment forever.

~*~*~*~*~

Kenji was not having a good day. Or week, for that matter. He´d been extremely worried about the reaction of his boss when he finally revealed what had gone wrong with his research. Then, he found out that his daughter and his niece were being looked after by five nineteen year old boys. Next, it looked like he couldn´t even change his boss´s mind, because her choice had appeared reasonable, thought-out, and wonderfully appropriate. Of course, then there was the one named Duo, who was hitting on his niece. And after that, he had found out that his daughter was kidnapped.

Kenji growled as he walked along the paths in the garden. That Heero boy had stalked off with the note, not even bothering to reveal how Kenji could get his dear Usagi back. And to think he actually approved of him for a minute.

All of a sudden, Kenji came to a complete stop, jaw dropping at the storybook scene in front of him, two lovers kissing in the dusk. His rage was suddenly in an overdrive, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "What do you think you´re doing?!"

In front of him, he could see his niece break loose from Duo´s embrace.

Duo gulped and almost jumped behind Minako. "You know, your uncle is scarier than Heero," he commented.

Minako grinned. "It´s okay, Duo. I´ll protect you!" Then she burst into a fit of giggles at the mental picture she suddenly had.

By now, Kenji had regained control of his legs, and was currently stomping towards the two.

"Let´s not stay and find out what kind of ways he came up with to torture me," Duo mumbled, grabbing a hold of Minako´s hand and making a mad dash for Quatre´s mansion. He could only hope Mrs. Tsukino was a little kinder.

~*~*~*~*~

"Are you sure you´re alright, Mrs. Tsukino?" a worried Quatre asked one of his newest guests, bringing a cup of tea into the sitting room.

"Yes, thank you," Ikuko replied. "I´m just worried about my daughter."

"I´m sorry," Quatre apologized. "I should have kept better watch over her."

"No, no," Ikuko denied. "I´m sure she would have been fine if Kenji and I hadn´t come along. Perhaps the enemy knows we´re here, and they have taken Usagi to use her against us."

The woman´s shoulders drooped, and Quatre felt his heart go out to the poor woman. "Perhaps Duo is right," he suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps it is not any of our fault."

Ikuko smiled at the blond. "We just need to get her back," she said. "I´ll do anything to get her back. She´s my flesh and blood."

"I know," Quatre whispered, thinking back of how his own mother had given her life to give birth to him. "We´ll do whatever we can."

No sooner had he said that, the double doors burst open. Quatre turned around and had his gun pointed at the intruder in a second, but he immediately lowered it when he saw that their "intruder" was his braided comrade and Minako.

"Q-man!" Duo shouted, letting go of Minako and running behind the confused Arabian. "You have to save me!"

Quatre sighed. "What did you do to Wufei?" he grumbled in exasperation.

"Not Wufei! It´s worse than Wufei!" Duo whimpered.

Quatre raised an eyebrow. Worse than Wufei? Only Heero, on a bad day, would fit that criteria, but the Perfect Soldier hasn´t even left his room in the past twenty-four hours, and considering Duo almost got a nice bullet hole in his forehead earlier today, he wouldn´t really go annoy Heero again, would he?

"You stand there and let me shoot you!" an angry fatherly voice boomed through the halls.

Two seconds later, a pissed off Kenji was standing in the doorway of the sitting room. "Come out here!" he yelled. "And which one of you has a gun?"

"Uncle! You can´t shoot him!" Minako blurted out, coming to stand in front of Duo.

"Kenji," Ikuko reprimanded, "I know you´re upset over Usagi being missing, but shooting another human being is not a solution."

"I don´t want to shoot him because of Usagi," Kenji growled. "Do you know what he did to Minako out in the garden?!"

Quatre turned as red as a cherry at the implication, and Ikuko turned to look at Minako. The usually perky girl waved her hands and shook her head frantically. "It wasn´t like what Uncle Kenji is making it out to be!" she explained. "He kissed me, that´s all!"

"I never gave you permission to kiss my niece!" Kenji shouted loudly.

Quatre winced, convinced that his entire household now knew that Duo had kissed Minako. The girl frowned. "Uncle! I don´t need your permission to be kissed," she stated calmly. "Besides, I´ve kissed other guys back at the school at home."

If it was possible, Kenji looked even angrier than before. Duo tugged on Minako´s sleeve like a child. "Are you sure that was a good thing to tell your uncle?" he whispered.

"WHAT?!" came the outburst from one furious Kenji. "When we go back, you´re giving me a list, and I´m shooting every last one of them!"

"Dear," Ikuko replied easily, as though this kind of event happened all the time, "you can´t shoot a boy just because he kissed Minako. Besides, Minako didn´t refuse. You should know that what you want to do is against the law."

"Not that it ever stopped Heero or Wu-man from trying to kill me," Duo muttered under his breath.

"Duo, be quiet!" Minako hissed, momentarily taking her eyes off her uncle to glare at her boyfriend.

Kenji slowly went from red to blue, to purple, back to red, and then, to his normal colour. "Fine," he gritted out. Somehow, his wife had always made his actions seem childish and unreasonable, even though they had made perfect sense to him prior to her interference. "But only if Minako approved."

"I approve," Minako answered quickly, nodding her head. Anything to get her uncle away from Duo. Yeesh, if he was like this with her and Duo, what was he going to do to Heero when he found out about the mutual attraction between him and Usagi? Minako made a mental note to be there to watch the fireworks.

"Excuse me," a quiet voice interrupted from the doorway.

All occupants of the room looked up to find Trowa standing there. "Lady Une would like to speak to us," he informed them.

They all stood up and followed the tall boy down the hall to a room that Quatre had hoped they would never need to use again. It was large, with an oval-shaped table in the middle. Around the table was ten chairs. A screen of some sort sat at the other end of the room, facing the heavy wooden door. Another feature of the room was that it was soundproof. It was the meeting room that the five boys had used during the war to discuss their missions.

As the group walked in, they noticed that the Perfect Soldier was actually present. As soon as they all found a seat, Une started to talk.

"I think it´s about time that everyone knows what´s going on here," she began. "Kenji is the Preventers´ weapon developer. He had come up with some plans for a defense cannon. That is why you boys were assigned to protect his niece and daughter, in case someone wanted to use them to get the plans from him. I believe that this is also the reason why Usagi was kidnapped."

Surprisingly enough to Kenji, the boys had all remained calm at that little piece of information. It was, however, no surprise to Une that they understood Kenji´s point of view. After all, they fought in the war, and knew that weapons were needed in keeping peace, despite the irony in the concept. Minako, also remained calm at the revelation of her uncle´s true line of work. It did not shock her one bit. In fact, a lot of things now made more sense to her, like why he never told them what he did for a living. It was a danger for them to know.

"And?" Wufei prompted the former OZ colonel.

"How do we save her?" Ikuko suddenly interrupted. "Please, she´s my only daughter. You can´t give up!"

Kenji wrapped his arms around his wife, trying to soothe her.

"The condition," Une started, then hesitated. She took a deep breath. "The man who has her wants the plans for the cannon in exchange for your daughter."

"Fine, then I´ll give that to them," Kenji all but spitted out. "Hell, I´ll exchange myself. I just want my daughter to be safe."

For the first time since his appearance, all the guys could see just how much this man loved his daughter. Even Duo, who had been cowering in fear from Kenji only minutes before, could see that this was just a middle-aged man who was overprotective of his daughter and his niece, because he didn´t want them to be hurt, because he loved them.

"It´s alright," Une replied. "Why don´t you, Ikuko, and Minako go get some rest. You all seem distressed. I´m going to brief the boys on the rescue mission."

Kenji nodded. "I don´t care what you do. Just get her out," he said solemnly.

Une gave a brief nod, and Minako, after pecking Duo quickly on the cheek, followed her uncle and aunt out of the room.

As soon as the door shut, Trowa spoke up, "What are we really doing?"

At the looks she was receiving from all five of the boys, Une sighed. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"We have to rescue Usagi," Quatre said firmly. "Mrs. Tsukino was so upset."

"But we don´t even know who the enemy is," Wufei inputted with a frown. "If we just go in and rescue the onna, sure we´ll be fine if we succeed, but we´re not going to leave the kidnappers there. A confrontation will happen."

"And we´ll be unprepared," Trowa finished.

"I´ll go in," Heero spoke up, his eyes hardening "You four rescue Usagi. I´ll take out the enemy."

"No way, Heero!" Duo protested. "You don´t even know what you´re up against! And who´s to guarantee that Usagi will be kept away from their leader or whatnot?"

Heero clenched his fist. The braided boy was right there. If Mamoru was using Usagi as bait, then she´ll be with him. The man knew him a little too well, much to Heero´s dismay.

"We can´t let the cannon plans fall into the enemy´s hands," Une stated. "This kind of power would threaten the entire earth."

She paused, and Wufei spoke up. "Then what do you suggest we do, onna?"

"The mission," Une started, "is to investigate as much as you can about the enemy base, once you find it. If you can rescue Usagi without handing over the cannon plans, then do that."

Quatre, Trowa, Duo, and Wufei all exchanged looks. Meanwhile, Heero had his fist clenched so tightly under the table that his knuckles were turning white. He glared at the surface of the table. He had a feeling what was coming next.

"And if we can´t rescue her without handing over the cannon plans?" Quatre prompted for all the guys.

Une looked guiltily at them, hating what she was going to say herself. "If you can´t, then you destroy the base," she finished quietly. "Leave no survivors."

******************************************************************

End of Chapter 7.

AN: You want more? Then REVIEW, please!! I´ll just leave quietly now. *runs for bomb shelter*


	9. Chapter 8: Mission Briefing

Silent Waltz by Comet~Princess

Disclaimer: The mission, should you choose to accept, is not to sue the author since she doesn´t own anything except the story. She is poor and has nothing to give you anyway.

AN: Thank the break. ^^ We really should get breaks more often. I benefit, and you benefit too since I write during my breaks. I developed an obsession over manga. O.o I somehow read the entire CCS manga, the Vampire Princess Miyu manga, and half of the SM manga in a matter of days. Too bad the break is over now. Anywho, just the latest update on my life. =P

Warnings: Mamoru is still OOC. He doesn´t appear in the chapter, but just so you know.

Purr-chan: =P I thought I already said that Duo-kun escaped my harem. He´s not here anymore, though I´m thinking of making Hee-chan find him. ^_~ Besides, Kenji´s only after Duo because he doesn´t know about Heero. =D

Midnight Lady: *nods* Mamoru is OOC. =D *points to warning* No disagreement there. But at least he´s still intelligent and a good fighter.

Sailor Grape: No pieces? Oh darn. *tosses Wufei-steak ideas aside*

Thanks goes to Mei-chan (Mingming) and Chibi Tenshi-chan for pre-reading. *glomp* Not one of my best, kind of a transition chapter, but they liked, so I posted. Here you go!

*****************************************************************

Chapter 8 - Mission Briefing

*****************************************************************

Silence filled the room. No one made any sound as each person pondered what Une had just proposed. Quatre was the first to come to a decision.

"We can´t do that!" he cried out. "Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino would be so upset! I. . .I can´t bring myself to just leave Usagi to die."

Duo nodded his agreement. "Minako was already distressed enough that Usagi was kidnapped, and it was our mission to make sure she didn´t come to any harm. We failed," he said in a whisper. "And now, you want us to just destroy the base? How can we do that?"

Une looked at them regretfully. "If I could do anything different, I would," she replied quietly.

"But we´re choosing between the fate of the world and one person´s life," Wufei finished for her. "It´s like when we risked our lives to save the innocent during the Eve Wars."

"Risking your own life is different from risking someone else´s life!" Quatre argued, a sudden gleam of determination in his eyes. "I would willingly die for the world, but I can´t ask someone else to die in my place!"

Trowa placed a calming hand on the blonde´s shoulder. "Don´t you think Usagi would be willing to die if she knew that our choices are between her and the world´s population?" he asked. He didn´t know all the details about Usagi, nor would he claim to, but Trowa knew that Usagi could at least fight. She would fight to protect the people she love. This much, Trowa sensed from the girl.

Quatre frowned. But before he could speak, Une interrupted their previous fight. "So you are not willing to go through with the mission?" she questioned.

"I will, if it will preserve what we fought for," Trowa stated quietly.

"Me too," Wufei announced, crossing his arms. It was cruel, he knew, but as far as he could see, they could do nothing else. Usagi´s life had no guarantee, unless they handed over the ticket to world domination, and he couldn´t do that.

"I disagree," Quatre spoke up. "I say we find another way to do this."

"I´m with Quatre," Duo added. Just picturing the way Minako had cried moments earlier tore at his heart. In addition, Usagi had become his friend, and no matter what, he couldn´t send a friend to their death.

It was a standoff. Everyone in the meeting room knew it, and there was only one person who hasn´t spoken since Une had suggested the battle plan. Everyone turned expectantly at the Perfect Soldier. As always, it seemed like he would get the last say.

Heero continued to stare at the tabletop, as though if he stared long enough, the unusual patterns imprinted in the wood would give him the answer. Why couldn´t someone else make the decision for once? He clenched his fists underneath the table. What kind of decision were they asking him to make, choosing between the safety of the Earth and the life of the only person he´s ever loved? It was a death sentence. Either way, he lost.

_*Flashback* _

_He couldn´t work the keys on his laptop fast enough. He really wished there was another way to do this, but. . . . _

_Why must he do this? Why did he always hurt people, no matter how hard he tried not to? _

_The coding on the information was done. There was no way anyone could crack it, not even her. There would be no way to track him down, just the way he wanted it to be. He bit his lip, debating how to tell her he was leaving. _

_Scratch that, he already told her he was leaving. She had been upset, to say the least. He knew he had asked the impossible of her. She wouldn´t forget him, just as he knew that he would never forget her, even if he never saw her again. He looked up at the silver picture frame sitting on his desk. There, she beamed at him, her smile carrying so much joy that he felt his heart melt at the sight of her happiness. _

_The person she was smiling at was the other person in the picture, him. She was hugging him from behind, both of her arms around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder. The wind that day blew gently, sending her hair flying around her, giving her an almost surreal look. _

_He let out a sigh. He had decided. He wouldn´t tell her when he was leaving. Goodbyes weren´t his style. He wouldn´t know what to say, how to act. _

_Picking up the picture, and hesitating only for a moment, he smashed the glass against the corner of his desk, cutting his fingers on the broken shards. It was done half in anger, half as a reminder. He was angry that, of all the people he could hurt in the world, he ended up having to harm the one he least wanted to hurt. It was also a way to remind himself that he could never bring her the happiness she deserved. His past haunted him to no end, and being with her would endanger her. That was something he was not willing to do. Ignoring the pain caused by the cuts on his fingers, he gingerly picked out the picture inside. _

_He stared at it some more. He couldn´t bring himself to do it, to destroy the only tangible evidence of their love, to rip it to shreds. _

_When did he become so soft? It seemed like whenever he thought of her, he would turn into someone else, someone who hadn´t killed thousands of people, someone who wasn´t trained as a soldier since birth, someone whose heart and soul still existed. Shaking his head, he scanned the picture into his laptop. He quickly scribbled a note, tucked it and the picture into the envelope, and left it on the desk. _

_Standing up, he put on his coat, picked up his laptop and duffel bag, and left the room. _

_*End Flashback*_

Heero´s eyes misted over. He hadn´t left, at least, not yet. His shuttle left in the evening, so he had opted to see her face one more time. The heartbroken look, the pain in her eyes, the tears that spilled unchecked down her face had made him feel a hundred times guiltier than when he had accidentally killed that little girl and her dog. All he had wanted was to rush back in there, hold her, and tell her he would never leave her. But just as he was about to, Mamoru´s face had appeared in his mind´s eye, his "suggestion" ringing in his ears. The resolve had hardened, his own tears hiding behind his mask of coldness, the broken pieces of his heart once again behind the wall of ice he had built. He had been really careful about not leaving traces of himself afterwards, knowing she´d want to find him. But as months passed, and she still hadn´t looked for him, he had become less careful. Of course, that´s when she had decided to find him.

"Heero?" Duo asked, waving his hands between Heero´s eyes and the surface of the table, effectively bringing the Perfect Soldier back to the present.

Heero looked up at his comrades from the war, who were waiting for his word. Then, he met Une´s eyes, which were filled with remorse. She didn´t want to do this, but as the leader of the Preventers, she couldn´t put Usagi´s life ahead of the Earth´s safety. Her outlook was purely professional. Then, for him. . . .

"Mission accepted," Heero stated emotionlessly, standing up from his seat.

"Heero, you can´t be serious!" Quatre spoke up.

"Yea, Heero," Duo piped up. "How can you send the girl you love to her death?"

The room was suddenly so silent you can hear a pin drop. Une, Quatre, and Wufei were alternating between staring in shock at Heero, and then, gaping at Duo. Trowa remained impassive. He had guessed as much. Meanwhile, the glare Heero was sending Duo would be enough to kill a normal man.

"Excuse me?" Une finally choked out. "Heero, if you-"

"The mission is to rescue her unless we can´t do so without handing over the cannon plans, correct?" Heero interrupted. When he got a nod from Une, he continued, "Then it doesn´t mean she will die for sure."

He turned to leave the room, but just before he opened the door, he turned around and faced the self-proclaimed Shinigami. "Duo, when we´re done with this mission, your braid is coming off," he promised, slamming the door shut behind him.

Duo´s whimpers were the only sounds in the room for a full minute. Wufei, having finally gotten over what Duo had said before, soon became annoyed though.

"Shut up, Maxwell!" he snapped.

"But Wu-man, he wanted to cut off my braid," Duo whined, clutching his most prized possession tightly.

"Don´t call me Wu-man, Maxwell!" Wufei yelled. "Or Yuy won´t be the only one after your damn braid!"

Une cleared her throat to stop any potential fights from happening. "Duo," she addressed, "could you elaborate on what you said?"

"Does it look like I want to die?" Duo asked.

However, it was too late to turn back. All the occupants in the room were now looking curiously at the braided boy, waiting for the rest of the story. Duo sighed, and silently prayed to the God of Death that he wouldn´t take his soul so soon.

"I don´t know," Duo began with a shrug. "I mean, like Minako said, he was just unusually mad when he found out that Usagi was kidnapped. I just thought, considering Heero, that that was enough evidence to show that he cared for her, and not only as a friend. He wouldn´t be so mad if he lost one of us, and we´re his friends, as close as it´ll get anyway."

"Yuy could just be mad because he failed the first mission," Wufei pointed out, referring to the fact that they were supposed to protect Usagi.

"Wufei, you didn´t see the look in his eyes when he first finished reading that letter," Duo stated, using the Chinese boy´s actual name for once. "I tease him a lot, you all know that, and I swear that he´s never ever looked so mad in all the time I´ve known him."

"Duo´s right," Une interjected, nodding her head. "I remember how he looked at me when he told us Usagi was kidnapped."

"But," Quatre spoke up, "he hasn´t shown any signs of being attracted to Usagi in the time we´ve stayed together."

"Wrong," Duo commented. "He admitted he liked her, well, kind of. Besides, didn´t you guys notice that he didn´t even deny my accusation just now?"

The room went silent again. It was true. It wasn´t his words that pointed the boys to what should have been obvious from the beginning though. It was his actions. From the first time in the Preventers´ office when the two had engaged in their staring contest to what had happened just now, everything pointed to the same conclusion. Heero was in love with Usagi.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi stared up at the ceiling of the room she was in, silently counting the tiles. At first, she had refused to fall asleep in this unknown location, but weariness had finally gotten a hold of her, and she had slept for God knows how long. The room didn´t have a clock, so she wouldn´t know the difference between an hour and five hours. The window in the room was allowing sunlight to shine through though, which meant that it was currently daytime.

She had first tried to find a way out of the place, but when she had seen guards, armed with guns, outside her room door, she knew that she couldn´t get out. At least, not without injuring herself. If that man named Mamoru hadn´t unloaded her gun, then maybe she´d consider it.

She rolled over and sighed into the sheet on her temporary bed. Maybe she´d consider it, but she wouldn´t do it. She promised never to kill when he said he´d teach her. She groaned as her thoughts returned to Heero again.

_*Flashback* _

_The letter he left her was unbelievably short. He just told her not to look for him, and that he had to leave because he didn´t want to endanger her. She clutched the paper between her fingers, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. She never noticed the tears that slipped through her eyelids, nor the presence of a figure watching her from the window, a sorrowful look in his eyes. _

_As she picked up the envelope the letter was in, she realized that there was something else inside. Gingerly, she lifted out the only picture she had taken with him. Suddenly, instead of sorrow, she didn´t know what she was feeling anymore. He had left this behind too? Did this mean he wanted to forget her? To forget them? It was then that she noticed pieces of shattered glass on the floor next to the desk. _

_Her heart stopped. She swore it did. The frame she had given him, he had broken it? Was it on purpose or by accident? But no matter which one it was, he still hadn´t want the picture of them. Why? Was it because he thought he was unworthy of her, due to his past and the danger he thought he put her in? Of course it was, he kept saying that whenever they´re together, after all. _

_"Heero, you baka," she whispered, so softly that only she could hear it. "Don´t you know by now that I don´t care about your past? I don´t care about the danger. I love you. . . . and you didn´t even say goodbye." _

_She looked around the room once more. She wouldn´t come back here after today. It would bring back too many memories. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She considered trying to find him, but she knew him well enough to know that he didn´t want her to find him. Turning, she left the house and headed home. _

_She couldn´t stop her sniffling. So one can imagine Minako´s surprise when her cousin and best friend walked into the house, her eyes red from crying. _

_"Usagi?" Minako asked. "Are you okay?" _

_Her question went unanswered as the bunny threw herself into Minako´s arms and cried. The other girl was surprised at first. Volleyball practice had been cancelled due to the coach being sick, so she had come home, wanting to drag Usagi with her to the arcade, considering Usagi hadn´t gone in awhile. She had found an empty house, and was about to leave in panic to find her missing cousin when Usagi came home, crying. _

_Minako wrapped her arms around Usagi, muttering soothing words. She wondered what had happened to her. Usually, Usagi was the stronger of the two. Minako´s first thought was a guy, but Usagi hadn´t dated for the past year and a half, right? She opened her mouth to ask, but then, she remembered what she had promised herself when she first came to live with the Tsukinos. _

_"Usagi," Minako began, sounding older than she really was at the moment. "I have no idea what happened, and I won´t pry." _

_"Thank you," Usagi replied in a whisper. She knew how curious her cousin was, and she really should explain, but she couldn´t bring herself to. _

_"But I´ll tell you something that you told me the last time I cried," Minako stated, remembering how she had cried her eyes out after her break-up with her last boyfriend. "No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is won´t make you cry." _

_She was pretty sure that Usagi wasn´t crying over a guy, but still, whoever made her cry wasn´t worth the tears. _

_Usagi was too upset to note that her cousin had actually gotten a saying right, though she did give a mental smile. She was being hypocritical. She had told Minako not to cry over a guy, and here she was, crying over Heero. Still. . . . _

_She slowly looked up at Minako, and her cousin realized just how upset she was. "Minako," she began, "you´re right. But what do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the one who makes you cry?" _

_*End Flashback* _

Usagi sighed again. Frustrated with her own sulking, she jumped up from the bed and started to pace around the room. If only she could figure out what that mysterious man wanted with her.

Wait, scratch that. He didn´t want her. He wanted something from Heero, and apparently, she was bait. She rolled her eyes at the irony of it all. Here the Perfect Soldier was, thinking he´d endanger her life, but she was actually the one luring him into danger. Suddenly she stopped pacing as the full effect of that thought hit her. She was putting his life in danger? Pictures of Heero being killed flashed through her head, as different possibilities reached her mind. She slumped to the floor in a heap, clutching her head.

No! She can´t allow that to happen. She wouldn´t let him die because of her. She could warn him somehow, couldn´t she? She´d do anything, as long as he lived. She´d rather die herself than watch him die.

Her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she retraced her train of thought. She didn´t want to endanger him. She didn´t want him to die because of her. She´d rather torture herself than put his life on the line.

"This is how you felt, isn´t it, Heero?" she whispered to no one in particular.

And she didn´t even have a past like Heero´s. She had no enemy she knew of, who wanted to kill her, or torture her. She hadn´t killed people whose friends and family might or might not want to come looking for her. She didn´t have a secret identity in the war. This is what Heero must have felt, not just once, like she was feeling now, but every time they were together. He had been afraid for her life, and he had chosen to keep her safe.

Usagi stared aimlessly at the wall. She finally understood his reasoning. "I´m so sorry, Heero," she stated. She would tell him she understood once he got here, and she would tell him her side. They could still be together, she knew it, but he had to be willing to give it a try. He had to realize that sometimes, you can be selfish.

Standing up, she decided that she would do some investigating. Even if it was only getting something about her location out of the guards, she´ll have to find some information. Whatever she could get, it was going to be useful to Heero when he got here. She had no doubt he would come. They did, as she had discovered, love each other enough to give up their lives for one another.

~*~*~*~*~

"You found it?!" Duo stated in disbelief as he stared at the screen of Heero´s laptop. "It´s been two hours since we were told to find it, and you already found it?!"

"Hn," Heero grunted as he checked his weaponry. He could yell at Duo and say that he had been searching for the enemy base for the past day and a half, but then, he´d have a lot of explaining to do, such as why and how he had found the base. And he wasn´t willing to sit for hours to tell them all about it.

"You do work fast, Heero," Quatre answered quietly. He was still a little upset about having to go through with this mission, but after hearing Duo´s outburst, he was confident that Heero wouldn´t just let Usagi die, that is, if what Duo said was true. He tried to sense with his heart what Heero was feeling at the moment, but the only thing he got was determination. All of a sudden, the connection was cut off. He looked up in surprise to find Heero glaring at him. Quatre blushed. He hadn´t known that Heero could sense his empathetic powers, nor had he known that the Perfect Soldier knew how to block him off.

"Sorry, Heero," the Arabian apologized.

Heero grunted in reply. He looked around the meeting room. Duo had run off to tell Minako that they were ready to go rescue Usagi. Trowa was studying the map that was being displayed on his laptop, while Wufei was checking his own armament, like Heero himself had done moments earlier.

The four boys were mildly surprised when Duo came back in with both Minako and Kenji in tow. For once, it seemed like the middle-aged man didn´t want to have Duo´s head on a platter like the last few time the guys had seen the two in each other´s presence.

"I´m coming too," Kenji stated before the guys could say anything.

"No," was Heero´s calm reply. "We have no idea what will happen."

Kenji glared at the Perfect Soldier. "I am coming too," he repeated in a firm voice. "I don´t trust you."

Quatre and Trowa exchanged a glance. If Kenji came too, then they wouldn´t be able to carry out the mission properly. 

"Me too!" Minako piped up. "I´m going!"

"No way!" Duo protested. "I refuse to put you in this kind of danger, Minako. Do you realize that there are people at this base that will be armed? They wouldn´t care if they shot you, and frankly, I´d be damned if I let them anywhere near you."

"I agree with the boy. You´re not going, Minako," Kenji stated. Then, he realized what he had just said, and scowled. Did he just agree with that good for nothing boy who kept hitting on his niece? He looked around the room to see the looks on the other boys´ faces. By the looks of it, yes, he _did_ just agree with Duo.

Meanwhile, the braided boy blinked a few times and shook his head in wonder. The man who wanted to kill him agreed with him? He was then tackled by his girlfriend, who almost hugged the life out of him, not that he minded too much.

"Then you have to be careful!" she told him.

"I promise to come back in one piece," Duo said somewhat jokingly.

"I´m serious, Duo," Minako reprimanded, giving him a glare.

"Okay, okay," Duo answered with a smile. "I mean it too. Don´t worry. We promised to be there for each other, right?"

Minako nodded happily and hugged him again.

Kenji watched the scene unfold, this time with interest instead of fury. He had wanted to strangle the braided boy when they had first met, especially when he had found out that the boy was after his niece. But watching them for the past day, and especially now, Kenji was starting to realize that this man wasn´t after his niece for her body, like he had thought. He seemed to really care for her, as he could see when Duo had refused to let her follow them because it would be unsafe for her. They also drew strength from each other, and as much as he hated to admit it, Duo´s upbeat and cheery personality would match Minako´s wild and bubbly one very well. Kenji sighed mentally in defeat. As long as Duo truly cared and loved Minako, he couldn´t stop them from seeing each other, nor should he. It was hard to find someone who truly loved you. He knew that. He had been young once upon a time. While she was away from home, his niece had grown up.

_Well, I still have Usagi,_ he couldn´t help thinking with a little relief. (AN: Sorry to butt in here, but. . . . *tries not to laugh out loud*)

"Are you still going, Uncle Kenji?" Minako asked suddenly, half in Duo´s arms.

"No," came Heero´s monotonous answer as he typed something into his computer.

"YES!" Kenji bellowed, shooting daggers with his eyes at Heero. "I´m going to go rescue my daughter whether you like it or not!"

Other than the Perfect Soldier, all the guys shifted uncomfortably. What would they say if they had to go through with the second part of the plan?

"Fine, suit yourself," Heero suddenly stated. He stood up from the chair, checked his gun again, and started to leave. Trowa and Wufei both followed him quickly. Kenji, half surprised and half satisfied, smiled to himself. Minako quickly gave her uncle a hug.

"Be careful," she said.

Kenji nodded. "You too. Don´t wander off the property," he instructed her.

She nodded and watched him leave the room. She turned to Duo. "I think Uncle decided to accept you," she told him with a grin.

"That´s good," Duo replied with relief. "I was starting to think I´d have to run from him for the rest of my life."

Minako laughed. She pecked Duo quickly on the lips. "Good luck then, Duo," she said, referring to the mission. She smiled and headed towards the sitting room, where she knew her aunt was currently worrying about Usagi. At least she could comfort Ikuko a bit. She would help where she could.

As soon as Minako left, Quatre turned worriedly to Duo. "Why in the world did Heero let Mr. Tsukino come?" he asked quietly.

Duo sighed. "I don´t know. But maybe Heero´s sure that we can rescue Usagi," he answered with a shrug.

_Or Heero has already promised himself that he wouldn´t let Usagi die,_ they both thought at the same time as they left to join the rest of their group.

~*~*~*~*~

How Heero had managed to find such a well-hidden base in such a short amount of time would baffle the guys and Kenji until they were old, wrinkled, and sitting around in wheelchairs. Duo could now swear that he was lost in this maze-like wood. The trees were thick and tall, the leaves on them covering most of the sunlight. There was no path leading them to their destination, except for a soft beeping coming from Heero´s laptop. In addition, Heero seemed to be walking in curves, winding in and out of trees and other things in their path.

Finally, Duo blurted out, "Heero, why don´t we just walk in a straight line? Wouldn´t that be faster?"

"Shut up," Heero hissed back in monotone, ducking behind a bush. He gave Duo a glare.

"It´d be nice to know why we´re walking in a winding path," Quatre added in a whisper, noticing that they had tried to make as little sound as possible.

"Cameras and microphones," Heero muttered, looking at the screen of his laptop again.

"In trees?" Duo asked.

Heero nodded. He had tried to be as discreet as possible, but he was almost certain that Mamoru already knew they were there. A group of six was kind of hard to miss with all those cameras he had managed to detect with his laptop. Plus, even if they had been really quiet thus far, Duo had no doubt just given them away to the microphones.

The rest of the trip into the center of the woods was very quiet. None of them spoke, and even Kenji decided that it was best to follow Heero´s instructions, at least for now. When Heero finally stopped walking and went to check his gun, again, they knew that they had reached the base.

Kenji, along with everyone else, except for Heero, peered over the bush to find, much to their surprise, a single level bungalow surrounded by an iron fence. It was probably the last thing they were expecting when they were told to "rescue" Usagi from the kidnappers´ base.

"Are you sure this is right, Yuy?" Wufei asked skeptically. "This looks like some vacation house Sally was showing me a month back in that real estate magazine."

"There are ten levels underground," Heero informed them, ignoring the funny looks he had gotten. "The ground level is most likely their living quarters."

"Oh," came from various members of the group.

Heero glared down at the bungalow. No wonder he had never been able to find Mamoru before. He had tried after he decided to leave Usagi, but to no avail. The place was very well-hidden, though he shouldn´t have expected anything less. Heero wondered briefly if Mamoru had let himself be found this time, considering he had tried for much longer than a day before, and had found no trace.

"Any plan at all?" Duo asked, turning serious, since he realized that their mission had officially started.

"Let´s split into two groups," Trowa suggested. "One will keep guard around this area, and the other will infiltrate the base."

Heero reached down to copy something from his hard drive onto a disc. "I´ll go into the base," he volunteered.

"So will I," Kenji spoke up. "I want to rescue my daughter." He noted the guys´ use of words and suddenly wondered about their pasts. They talked like soldiers, and even acted like a troop, one that had worked together before, and had never forgotten each other´s strengths and weaknesses.

"Mr. Tsukino, I think it´d be better if you stayed here. I mean, we really don´t know what will happen inside, and it´s very dangerous," Quatre reasoned.

Kenji stubbornly refused. They may act like soldiers, but he still wouldn´t put his daughter´s life into their hands. The ex-Gundam pilots looked at each other and silence ensued for a few minutes before Heero came to a decision.

"Duo, Trowa, with me. Wufei, Quatre, guard out here," he commanded. He tucked the disc into the back pocket of his jeans and gave the blond haired boy the laptop he had been carrying. "Red dots are cameras. Blue ones are microphones. Try not to be detected."

Quatre nodded and signaled to Wufei, both leaving the area. Heero gave a low grunt and signaled the remaining members of the group to follow him.

_Wait for me, Usagi. I won´t let you die, I promise. _

**********************************************************************

End of Chapter 8.

AN: REVIEW!!! More reviews = happy Comet-chan = more writing. I appreciate all your comments.


	10. Chapter 9: Choice

Silent Waltz by Hikari-chan (Comet~Princess)

Disclaimer: *pats the poor soul who thinks I own Sailormoon or Gundam Wing*

AN: I´m VERY sorry that this took such a long time. April and May just don´t seem to be good school months. -_-;;; Plus, I had to run off and write a fifty page songfic that I don´t even know how many times I wished would end. -_-;;; Anywho, I´m hoping updates will be faster now that June´s here. Thanks so much for your patience. *bows*

Warnings: Wordy, action chapter, Mamoru is still a bastard. (As in OOC / Mamoru bashing.)

solarmistress14, Firefly Princess, MOG: I can´t wait either. =D I´m debating between placid and calm Kenji-papa, or mad Kenji-papa on the loose.

Hiasobi-chan: If Kenji-papa has a say in this, he´ll be around when Duo´s racing his wheelchair down the hall against Wufei. *ROFL*

Celestial DreamBlaze: Nope. I found it scribbled on a piece of paper in this one desk at school. And I´m not being sarcastic.

Hildi-chan: Would I do that to Duo? Don´t answer that. =P No, I´m not that evil.

I´ll leave whatever else I need to say at the bottom. Enjoy! (Hopefully. . . ^^;;;)

*********************************************

Chapter 9 - Choice

*********************************************

Usagi stepped silently into the next empty hallway. Funny. This place wasn´t as heavily guarded as she had thought. Walking slowly so that her boots made no sound on the tiled floor, she hugged the wall as she slipped underneath another camera.

She wondered if the guy who had captured her realized that she had escaped, which had been much easier than she had thought. She had merely pretended to have found an exit in the room, "accidentally" making a lot of sound. The two guards at her door had rushed in to stop her, which gave her enough time to knock both of them out, take the keys and guns, and run out into a surprisingly empty hallway.

She knew that if anyone ever found out about that escape plan, she would be in big trouble, with her parents, Minako, and most of all, with Heero. Her parents would no doubt scold her for trying anything that she wasn´t sure she could do. Minako might think it was neat for a moment, then she would frown and say that her cousin and best friend could have been hurt. And Heero. . .well, he would glare at her with that look of death that scared everyone except for her, and he would calmly remind her of that promise she made when she had begged him to teach her self-defense. She would feel guilty for days to come, and once she finally decided to confront him, he would tell her how she didn´t think before she acted, how she put her own life in danger, and how she could have died. Then, somewhere in there, his defenses would slip, and how much he needed her and loved her would come out in between the other stuff he was saying.

Usagi smiled unconsciously. She needed to hear that right now. She let out a soft sigh, wondering if the Preventers even knew where she was. God knows she had no clue.

Footsteps echoed heavily down the hallway, and the blond haired girl quickly slipped into the closest room, praying that there wouldn´t be a camera in there too. It wasn´t until she had shut the door that she realized she was in a closet of some sort. She put her ear to the door, listening for any signs of people.

_Be alert and don´t ever let your guard down,_ she repeated to herself. _One moment of carelessness could mean your life._

*Flashback*

"_Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?" she asked, her innocent blue eyes shining with hope. "I´ll do anything you ask!"_

_The brown haired boy pulled away from her, his cold demeanor never faltering. Why she had decided to come to his small house everyday after school, he would never figure it out. He wasn´t nice, he wasn´t friendly, he wasn´t even talkative. In fact, it may as well be a rock that she was talking to. _

_Grabbing his laptop computer off the kitchen counter, he walked quickly into the living room, hoping she would take the hint. She didn´t. Following him like a child half her age, she plopped herself down next to him on the couch, watching his fingers fly over the keys. She didn´t understand what was on the screen, but she marveled at the way he could manipulate what was on the little piece of technology better than even her father. _

_"Can you teach me how to use a computer?" she asked suddenly out of the blue. _

_He paused just long enough to give her a funny look. "Most teenagers can use one," he stated tonelessly. _

_She sighed, putting her head on his shoulder. She didn´t notice the momentary start that he gave when he felt the intimate gesture. "I know," she whispered, wrinkling her nose. "But my dad thinks it´ll corrupt me. I can type, that´s about it. I can´t defend myself either. So if I suddenly get raped in a dark alleyway. . . ." _

_The corners of his lips twitched. That was a pretty poor attempt on her part if she was trying to give a subtle hint, but he had to give her credit for trying. He did, however, wonder why she wasn´t allowed to use something as common nowadays as a computer. _

_"Well?" she prompted, looking up at him with those huge, endless blue eyes again. _

_"Hn," he grunted, turning back to the screen of his laptop. _

_She scowled. "This is where you offer to teach me self-defense and how to use that," she replied, pointing to his laptop. _

_"No," he said again. _

_"Why not?" she demanded, frowning. _

_Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own, "Why do keep coming here?" _

_"Because you need company," she answered simply. "You´re lonely, and I´m free after school, so I´ll keep you company. Don´t you think you need a friend in your life?" _

_"I don´t deserve to have friends," he responded in monotone. _

_"Everyone deserves friends," she stated, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him. _

_"Not if you´ve killed thousands of people," he countered bitterly. "I´ve killed thousands of people. I don´t deserve other people´s compassion." _

_"Then why don´t you try making up for it instead?" she asked. _

_"By doing what?" he returned. _

_"Helping people," she replied. "It doesn´t exactly balance out, but if you help as many people as you´ve killed, then at least, you´ll have some peace of mind." _

_He remained silent after her simple suggestion. It was strange. She didn´t even know who he was, but she was willingly offering her friendship. She hadn´t spited him after finding out that he had been in the war and that he had killed thousands of people, innocent or not. She hadn´t judged him by the mask he put on, but instead, tried to look for the lost little boy underneath. It was true that he hadn´t interacted with many people in his life, but he already knew that she was one in a million. _

_"I suppose you would suggest that the first person I help is you," he commented, snapping his laptop shut and looking down at her. _

_She grinned at him. "Well, I was talking about something like volunteering, but your suggestion sounds good too," she said. _

_"Why do you want to learn?" he questioned. "The wars are over. There won´t be any need for you to fight." _

_"I´m not talking about war. I just want to protect the people who are important to me," she answered quietly. "I always need other people to look after me, but I don´t want my friends or my family to sacrifice themselves for me. I want to know how to protect myself." _

_He looked thoughtful for a minute, debating whether to teach this young, innocent creature what he knew. "Before we do anything, I want you to promise me two things," he stated firmly. _

_"Anything!" she replied eagerly. _

_"You will never, ever kill another person. You don´t want to know what it feels like to watch the blood flow from a person´s body, knowing it was because of you that they will never take another breath again," he said. _

_"Wow! That was the most you´ve ever spoken!" she exclaimed, receiving a death glare in return. She shrank back under the intense look. "Sorry, sorry. Okay, I promise." _

_"And, you won´t ever put your own life in danger. I´m not teaching you so you can sacrifice your own life." _

_She nodded. "Alright," she agreed. He continued to stare at her, making her shift uncomfortably. "So. . .when´s our first lesson?" _

_". . .Now," he replied, knocking her over from the couch onto the floor and pinning her underneath him. _

_"Ouch!" she cried out, wincing at the sudden pain shooting through her back. She glared up into his Prussian blue eyes. "You could have warned me!" _

_"Lesson one: Be alert at all times, no matter what. If this was a real battle, you would have died the second you started losing concentration," he instructed. _

_Don´t lose concentration, huh? She grinned impishly, a crazy, yet very tempting idea forming in her head. He narrowed his eyes, noticing her sudden change in mood. _

_She quickly pushed herself up onto her elbows, brushing his lips with hers very briefly. He gave a start, his eyes glazing over for half a second. She took the short amount of time to push him over, successfully getting him off her. He gave her a glare, ignoring the memory of her silky soft lips against his. _

_She smiled innocently. "Don´t lose concentration," she scolded him playfully before bursting into a fit of giggles. _

*End Flashback*

Usagi waited until the sounds of the footsteps faded before opening the door very slightly, peering out of the crack to check for any signs of guards. She released the safety on the gun she had taken from the guards, bringing it in front of her. The entire hallway was silent. Whoever had walked this way before had left. She crept into the hallway again, looking both ways in order to figure out how to get out of this place.

"Well," she muttered softly to herself. Both directions looked exactly the same, and she had no way of knowing which way to go. Crouching down, she put the gun she had previously held onto the floor, giving it a quick spin.

The dark piece of metal spun like a mini windmill, slowing to a stop after a few revolutions. It pointed to the left.

Picking up the gun and looking around carefully again, Usagi walked quietly down the hall, occasionally checking behind her to see if anyone was following her.

After a few minutes, hushed whispers from around one of the corners reached her ears, and she pressed herself against the wall.

"What do you mean? Mr. Chiba is brilliant," came from one voice.

"Yea, but don´t you think it´s cruel to use a girl as bait?" came from the second voice.

Usagi frowned, crouching down and readying her gun. The voices were getting louder, and she could hear the footsteps approaching her.

"What other way is there?" the first voice asked. "We can´t exactly walk up to the Preventers and ask for what we want."

"That´s just it!" the second voice exclaimed. "I think it´s not just the Preventers Mr. Chiba is targeting."

"Well, it´s his plan," the first voice replied. "I´ll tell you this though. They´re going to be sorry that they just tossed us aside. . . .and those guards that let that girl escape are going to be sorry once they wake up!"

The two men laughed loudly as they rounded the corner. Neither were prepared when a loud shot ran out. The first man cried out, clutching his arm. The second man looked shocked for a moment before reaching for the gun around his belt. Usagi jumped up and did a quick spin kick to the man´s head. As soon as her feet touched the ground again, she quickly punched the man she had first shot, successfully knocking him out with the handle of her gun. Both men fell to the ground with a soft thumps, one of them with a bleeding arm.

Usagi stepped back, staring at the pool of red blood that was slowly forming around the man´s arm. She felt a shudder go through her, and for the first time since she had first learnt how to shoot with Heero, she realized just exactly what his words that first day had meant. She was merely watching an injured person, and she already felt guilty for shooting him. Heero had killed thousands of people this way, watching and knowing that they ceased to live because of him. She bit back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. There would be time to berate her own selfishness and lack of understanding after she got out of this place.

Bending down, she quickly checked the two men´s pulses, and was relieved to find that they were both alive. She ripped off some of the injured man´s black uniform, twisting it up to form a makeshift rope and tying it tightly just above the man´s injury. That should stop the blood flow, at least until he either woke up or someone found him.

Looking around again, she ran down the hall that the men had come from, hoping that this was the way to the exit. She never noticed the tall man with the midnight blue eyes who watched her run down the hallway. He smirked to himself, signaling the three men behind him to take care of the two injured soldiers.

Without turning around to make sure they were doing their job, he followed the way Usagi had gone, at a slower pace than she had.

"Interesting little rabbit," he said to himself. "I would be very disappointed in J´s Perfect Soldier if he forced me to kill you."

~*~*~*~*~

It only took Heero three minutes to crack the security code on the entrance to the base, but it felt like three hours to the former pilot of Wing, who was used to cracking codes in under a minute. He growled as the door finally opened up.

As silently as possible for three former Gundam pilots and one former soldier, the group of four made their way down the empty hallways. Just before they rounded the first corner, Trowa signaled to his two partners from war to wait. He raised an eyebrow at them, silently asking if they thought it was weird that there hadn´t been any soldiers thus far.

Duo nodded, a frown forming on his usually cheery face. Heero, meanwhile, was examining one of the tiles on the floor, noting their colour patterns. He looked up at the other two, and pointed to the series of black tiles, which seemed to form a disjointed line.

Trowa followed the line with his eyes. The black tiles led down the hallway they were currently in and turned to the right at the next intersection of halls. He blinked at this.

Duo just stared, then hit Heero in the arm, pointing to the line and giving his best friend a questioning look, as though asking whether they should follow the subtle lead. The Prussian-blue eyed teen nodded. He knew that this was probably a trap set up by Mamoru, but without his laptop, he had no way of knowing which way to go, and they could end up really lost. Mamoru, meanwhile, could adjust his strategy depending on the path they chose to take anyway. This was his field they were playing on.

As this soundless exchange went on, Kenji merely stared at the three boys, half in frustration and half in fascination. He was frustrated because he had no idea what was going on, although he did pick up on the line of black tiles. However, he had no idea what the boys were saying, or implying, to each other. At the same time, he was fascinated that they could communicate so well without saying anything. Perhaps his daughter could be saved after all.

Kenji snapped out of his reverie when he felt Duo tap his shoulder. The braided boy pointed in the direction that Trowa and Heero had already taken off in, and Kenji quickly followed them, with Duo behind him. They rounded the corner to find two soldiers, who blinked in surprise before reaching for their guns. They had not heard any sounds and thought that there was no one approaching. Kenji didn´t even have enough time to blink as Trowa flipped behind one guard and knocked him unconscious with a chop to the back of his neck. Heero took out the other one with a punch to his stomach.

The Perfect Soldier signaled to them to follow him. He took out his gun, checking to make sure it was loaded. Trowa removed the silencer on his own gun and handed it to Heero, who nodded in understanding and thanks. Duo bent down to check the fallen guards´ bodies, taking the two guns on them. He tossed one to Kenji and checked the other one to make sure it was loaded. Kenji followed the braided boy´s lead, noting that the gun was a handgun, a kind that he hadn´t used since his training days.

Heero quickly looked around, and without waiting for the others, continued to run down the hallway, following the black tiles. Duo and Trowa, noticing this, quickly followed him.

Kenji brought up the rear, until Duo decided that it would be safer if the older man was in the middle. He fell back, an action that didn´t go unnoticed by the former soldier. Kenji wasn´t quite sure whether to be insulted or grateful. He had to hold back his temper, reminding himself that his daughter was still in danger, and that he shouldn´t yell. However, the way the braided boy was looking out for him made him feel like he was the youngling, the inexperienced one among them, and that offended him. However, he was grateful that someone was making sure he was alright, that he was keeping up, because he felt as though he really was the inexperienced one among them. The three boys he was with acted with much more experience than him, which made him wonder just what they had been through during the war. He made a mental note to question Duo after Usagi´s rescue. After all, if the boy was going to date his little niece, he was going to have to come clean with the secrets.

Kenji was shaken from his train of thoughts when he almost ran into Trowa´s back. He looked around him, and realized that he had no idea where he was anymore. He looked ahead to Heero, who had been leading them through the base so far. The Prussian blue-eyed teen had stopped running, and was instead examining a door to their right. Upon closer inspection, Kenji noticed that the line of black tiles ended abruptly where they were now standing.

Heero looked up at Duo, who grinned before taking the position his best friend was in before. Taking a lock pick out of his pockets, he went to work on the lock, which was surprisingly, not locked by an electronic code. The door opened mere seconds later, and both Heero and Duo rushed into the room with their guns pointed.

The small room was painted white, with a beige coloured carpet. It held a single bed, a wooden desk, and a dresser. A tiny window was located on the opposite wall from the bed, allowing enough light in to tell whether it was day or night.

There was no one in the room, and the former Gundam pilots slowly lowered their guns.

"There has to be something about this room," Duo muttered just loud enough for his three companions to hear. "They wouldn´t just lead us here for nothing."

"I´ll guard," Trowa volunteered, catching the silencer that Heero had automatically tossed to him once the words had left his mouth. "You search."

He walked to the door, his gun drawn, as the other three inspected the place. Duo searched near the window, then checked the drawers of the dressers. Finding nothing but dust, he looked up at Kenji, who had rummaged around the desk and inspected the walls. The older man shook his head, and the two turned to find Heero, who looked a little startled. Duo noticed that his best friend had lifted the covers off the bed, but he didn´t seem to be searching anymore.

"What did you find, Heero?" the braided boy asked.

"Usagi," Heero answered, turning to leave the room.

Duo blinked, while Kenji rushed over to the bed. "My daughter is not here," he stated plainly, gesturing to the empty bed.

Heero stopped in the middle of the room and turned to look at them. "But she was," he countered.

"How would you know that?" Kenji asked, narrowing his eyes. He didn´t like any boy knowing more about his little Usagi than him.

"The pillow smells like her shampoo," the Perfect Soldier replied as though this was an everyday occurrence.

Kenji glared more, and Duo tried to hide his snickers. "Tell me something, how would you know that?" the braided one asked innocently, somehow managing not to grin until his face hurt.

This time, it was Duo who got the glare, courtesy of the Prussian blue-eyed boy. "Do you value your braid, Duo?" he asked, his voice dripping with ice.

Duo nodded, taking a few steps back. "I´ll be good," he promised quickly.

Heero gave a grunt and walked to the door, informing Trowa that Usagi had once been in the room.

"So what do we do now?" Trowa asked.

"I´m going down this way," Heero told them, pointing down the right of the hall. "The three of you go down the left."

"Split up?" Duo asked. "Is that a good idea?"

"We´ll cover more ground, and there´s a good possibility that we´ll find her faster," Trowa answered.

"Makes sense," Duo said, nodding his head, "but shouldn´t it be two and two? I´m not liking the idea of abandoning you, Heero."

The Perfect Soldier checked his gun again before replying. "The three of you can split up that way later," he responded. "I remember seeing a lot of forks when we were following the tiles. I´d suggest someone stay with Mr. Tsukino though."

"I´m not an inexperienced idiot!" Kenji fumed. The toneless way Heero said everything made him feel as though he was just an extra burden, and he didn´t like to be looked down on.

"No," Heero agreed, surprising the previously angry Kenji, "but it would be no use to us if you were captured. The three of us can´t be held for ransom, but you can."

"That´s right," Duo spoke up. "We have no one, but you have a family waiting for you. Minako, Usagi, and not to mention Mrs. Tsukino would be devastated."

The fire that was originally in Kenji died. They were right. He couldn´t die here. He looked at them curiously again. Just what did they mean by not having anyone? He forced the thought aside, instead focusing on the task at hand. He nodded to the three boys. "I´ll cooperate for now," he stated, temporarily pushing the fact that Heero had recognized Usagi´s shampoo out of his mind.

Heero gave the three of them a nod before disappearing down the hallway, his gun held steadily in his hand.

Trowa gave Duo and Kenji a nod before he took the lead, heading down the other side of the shockingly empty hallway.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi frowned as she knocked out another soldier with a punch to the stomach. As the man dropped to the floor with a heavy thump, she paused in her search for the exit to rub her sore knuckles. A punching bag was different from a man. This much, she´s learnt in the past twenty minutes. She just hoped she would get out of here before she needed to resort to her gun.

She continued down the hall, shooting a camera along the way. She really wondered if this was a trap now. She had disabled more than one camera and knocked out about twenty guards, but no one came after her. She hadn´t exactly been soundless either. Just destroying one camera made a loud _bang _from the gun and continuous sizzling from the broken wires.

Usagi shook her head, forcing herself to focus on what was ahead of her. She noticed that there were no more guards, and that the hall was straight, with no more turns. At the end of the hall, a huge set of double doors, locked by electronic codes, peered down at her. She bit her lips, looking behind her once more before beginning to work on the code on the door.

The continuous beeping each time she pressed a button made her nervous, but still, she could not hear any footsteps or talking.

A little more than fifteen minutes later, the doors let out a hiss, slowly opening to reveal a room the size of an auditorium. The ceiling was very high, allowing the blond-haired girl to see the second, and even the third level. To her left, an enormous screen showed a three-dimensional map of the Earth and the colonies. In the center of the room, multiple computer terminals stood, all their monitors turned on. What she could see of the second and third floor through the glass walls and railings also revealed computer terminals and mainframes.

Usagi´s eyes widened. This was the control room of the base, not the exit! She had been going deeper and deeper into the building without knowing it. She quickly whirled around to leave, but the way she had come in was blocked. . .by none other than the black-haired man who she had previously fought against.

"Impressive, Usagi," he spoke up, smirking at her. "Twelve cameras and twenty-three of my men down, and not a scratch on yourself. I´m awed with J´s Perfect Soldier."

"What do you want?" Usagi spat out, taking a few steps away from him.

He stepped forward, watching in amusement as she took a step back for every step he took towards her. She stopped once she felt her hip bump into the desk behind her. She tried not to panic as he continued forward.

He stopped a few feet in front of her. That was when she heard the sound of two hissing doors opening, one behind her, and one opposite the three-dimensional map.

The man in front of her reached for the gun he kept at his waist. "Perfect timing," he muttered.

~*~*~*~*~

Duo didn´t know how long they had run, or how many soldiers they had injured. Memories of the Eve Wars haunted all three of them, and the unspoken agreement not to kill lingered in the air. Although Kenji had been tempted to just shoot the bastard who kidnapped his daughter more than once, he realized that many of the soldiers here were more valuable alive.

Directions to his daughter´s whereabouts came when the cowardly soldiers were injured. Of course, they were all knocked unconscious after the information came out as well. They couldn´t have someone reporting their progress to the leader here.

Soon, Duo and Kenji spotted Trowa up ahead of them, inspecting an electronic pad at a large set of white doors. The three had split up earlier, but it looked as though their paths lead them to the same place.

"Got it yet?" Duo asked his friend, coming up to inspect the code.

Trowa nodded wordlessly, glancing behind him and down the hall.

"Should we wait?" Duo questioned, looking the same way that Trowa was.

"No," came the reply from the former pilot of Heavyarms. "He wouldn´t have suggested we separated if he wanted us to wait for him."

Duo nodded. He turned to Kenji. "Last chance to leave," he joked, trying to lighten up the mood. "I have a feeling it won´t be that easy to turn back after these palatial doors."

"I didn´t come this far to turn around," the older man replied, managing to a small smile. He had to admit that the braided boy was much more reliable that he had first thought. Although Kenji had been a soldier during the war, his reflexes and his instincts were not as sharp as those of the ex-Gundam pilots. On their way to these doors, Duo had saved him a few times, usually because Kenji himself was too busy with the enemy in front of him to notice the enemy behind him. This left Kenji wondering once again about the five boys, but as he had reminded himself earlier, he could interrogate them later.

"Alright, here we go," Duo muttered as he readied his gun and signaled to Trowa to open the door.

~*~*~*~*~

_This is definitely a trap,_ he thought grimly to himself as he ran down the hallway. Dodge left, jump right, duck, punch out another guard, shoot a camera. The motions were fluid and automatic; he was snapping back into the mode Dr. J had trained him to be. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to refrain from killing anyone. He had promised himself that he wouldn´t kill again at the end of the Mariemeia incident.

"Trap" ran in his head again and again. For such a large base, there weren´t enough guards. Plus, the places where they appeared conveniently told him which way to turn next. He had first noticed this after a couple of intersections, but that didn´t stop him from going.

Why? Because he had decided that it made no difference whether it was a trap or not. He would confront Mamoru no matter what.

Reaching a large set of doors at the end of an empty hallway, he shot a look behind him before getting to work on the code. He was slightly surprised that it was solved in thirty seconds. His eyes narrowed as the door hissed open, and he automatically readied his gun, as a precaution if for nothing else.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi barely had any time to react as the black haired man ran forward with shocking speed and made a grab for her. She jumped out of the way of his right hand, and immediately realized her mistake. However, it was too late to change her actions. His left hand grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, his right arm going around her neck, effectively preventing her from escaping.

She took a sharp intake of breath when she realized that his right hand was also holding a gun to her temple. Out of the door that she was facing stepped Duo, Trowa, and her father. Usagi´s eyes widened. What was her father doing here? Wasn´t he still on the colony?

The man behind her swung her around in a semi-circle, and she was aware of a few dozen men behind them now pointing their rifles at the trio.

"Just in time, aren´t we?" the man holding her said to the person who just stepped through the second doorway.

The Prussian blue-eyed teen scowled at them, his gun pointed perfectly at the black-haired man´s forehead. "Release her, Mamoru," he stated icily. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Doesn´t she, Perfect Soldier?" Mamoru replied with a slight smirk. Another dozen of men stepped up in front of him, their rifle pointing at the former pilot of Wing Gundam.

"Gun, now," Mamoru commanded in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Heero looked around the control room, judging his current position. Not only were they greatly outnumbered, but Usagi was being held at gunpoint. He couldn´t risk anything. He glanced up briefly into her blue eyes, and was surprised to see the trust and determination in them. She didn´t offer an answer, but she was giving him her approval for whatever decision he chose to make.

Wordlessly, he dropped his gun to the ground, lowering his hands to his sides and glaring at Mamoru. "What do you want?" he bit out.

"I´m sure you know," Mamoru answered with a smirk.

Duo, Trowa, and Kenji all looked on silently. It seemed as though whatever was happening didn´t involve them at all. However, their interference was unwelcome.

"But just in case it slipped your mind," Mamoru continued sarcastically, "I´ll remind you."

He pushed the gun he held harder against Usagi´s temple, releasing the safety and making Usagi´s eyes widen in a mixture of shock and fear.

"Heero Yuy, I´m offering you a choice. The cannon plans for this girl. In other words, take your pick. The world you´ve devoted your life to save and protect. . .or the woman you love."

************************************************

End of Chapter 9.

AN: Wouldn´t you just kill me if I said this was the end of the story? =D Please REVIEW and I´ll try my best to get the next chapter out soon (like within the next 2 weeks. ^^)


	11. Chapter 10: Perfect Soldiers

**Silent Waltz ** by Hikari-chan (Comet~Princess)

Disclaimer: I´ve already screwed over the original storyline of both Sailormoon and Gundam Wing so much with this story that you can tell I didn´t come up with the original. =P

AN: When I first hinted that Heero and Usagi had a past together, almost every person who reviewed asked me how they knew each other. In the past couple of chapters, I´ve also hinted that Heero has a history with Mamoru, but only two or three reviewers seemed to have picked up on it. -_-;;; Is this supposed to tell me something? O.o Oh well, whether you´re interested or not, I´m going to develop Mamoru´s character a little more in this chapter. I have a feeling you´ll just be more confused though. -_-;;;

Angel of Ice: I honestly don´t know. I just visualize it as the perfect ending to the chapter. The "perfect ending" is always a cliffhanger though. -_-;;;

siren: Yea! One more person who noticed that Heero also has a history with Mamoru!

To everyone else who reviewed: *tackle glomps* I love you all! Even if you hate me after the last chapter. =D I really do appreciate all your comments. The good, the bad, and the ugly. ^^ And if you mentioned wanting to kill me in your review, line up. =P I lost count of the number of people. Oh yea, and you have to wait till I get my cloning machine in here. *runs out*

I hope you like! Enjoy, minna!

****************************************************

Chapter 10 - Perfect Soldiers

****************************************************

Duo felt a cold chill run through him like nothing he had ever experienced before. How was Heero supposed to make that decision?! On one hand, preventing the enemy from getting their hands on the cannon plans was part of their mission, and Heero never ever failed a mission. On the other hand, they couldn´t just give up on Usagi. Heck, even if he and Trowa were willing to give up on the blond haired girl´s life, Mr. Tsukino wouldn´t, and he had a good hunch that Heero wouldn´t either.

Duo opened his mouth to comment on this condition, but Kenji beat him to it with a loud cry of "WHAT?!"

Mamoru rolled his eyes and cast a brief glance at the older man, never loosening his hold on the girl. "This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it," he stated coldly.

"That´s my daughter!" Kenji answered. "You can´t kill her!"

"Is that right?" Mamoru replied.

He was about to say more when Usagi interrupted them. "Dad, it´ll be okay," she reassured him. "Just stay calm. If you can´t win the fight against your emotions, you won´t win the fight on the battlefield."

Heero gave a start, realizing that she had just quoted something he had taught her. Mamoru also noticed that those words were familiar. He turned back to Heero, deciding to ignore his earlier conversation with Kenji. "You wouldn´t want this wonderful student of yours to go to waste, would you?" he taunted. "Give me the cannon plans, and I´ll release her."

"How can we trust you?" Trowa asked suddenly, his visible eye gleaming with suspicion.

"If there´s one thing I pride myself on, it´s my word," Mamoru answered, not bothering to look at the former pilot of Heavyarms. "J´s Perfect Soldier knows perfectly well that I will do what I say."

"I´ll give you the plans!" Kenji burst out, having gotten over Usagi´s earlier comment to him. "Just don´t harm my daughter!"

Mamoru gritted his teeth. "My choice was offered to the Perfect Soldier. I want no other input," he forced himself to reply calmly. "If you say anything else, I will shoot her regardless of the cannon plans."

Kenji snapped his mouth shut, frowning in frustration.

Duo tried to think of a way of getting out of this with Usagi and the cannon plans, but nothing came to mind. He did, however, come up with a mean to prolong their time. "We don´t have the cannon plans here," he informed the annoyed Mamoru. "We´ll have to go get it."

Mamoru narrowed his eyes. "Too bad this was a one-time offer. I don´t wait," he answered darkly, getting ready to pull the trigger.

Usagi closed her eyes. She wasn´t quite sure whether or not she was afraid of death, but she knew that she didn´t want to die yet. There were so many more things in life that she hadn´t had a chance to do, so many things she never said, but it looked like she might never have those chances. . . .

"Wait," Heero´s calm voice rang out.

Mamoru raised an interested eyebrow, his finger still on the trigger.

Slowly, as to make sure that the soldiers with the rifles know that he wasn´t getting a weapon, Heero reached for the disk he had slipped into his waistband before he came into the base. He looked across the room with unreadable eyes at his teammates before stating softly, "Mission aborted."

Duo and Trowa both looked at him with surprise written clearly in their expressions. Of all the people in the world who would do something like this, Heero was certainly the last on the list.

"Here are the plans," Heero continued in his monotone. "Release her."

Mamoru smirked, giving a brief nod to the soldier closest to him. The soldier got up and walked towards Heero, taking the disk from him. He walked to one of the many computer terminals and inserted the disk. Kenji´s eyes widened considerably when he realized that the blueprints now flashing on the giant screen of the control room were, indeed, the plans he had designed.

"Good, good," Mamoru muttered, clicking the safety back onto his gun and hauling Usagi over to Heero. "And as promised, here´s your girlfriend."

Usagi blushed as Heero wrapped a protective arm around her waist. She glanced at her father out of the corner of her eye to note that he had not missed the black haired man´s comment. She sighed softly, realizing that she and Heero would have a lot of explaining to do after they got out of here.

"I must say that I´m pleased, surprised, and disappointed all at the same time," Mamoru mused aloud, signaling a few soldiers to escort Duo, Trowa, and Kenji over to them. "My plan worked wonders, yet, I´m rather surprised at your choice. I was expecting the opposite, especially from you."

He ignored the death glare that Heero was sending his way, finding it rather amusing if anything. "I´ll have three of my guards escort you to the exit," he continued. "I´m sure you will cooperate." He picked up the gun Heero had dropped to the floor earlier, spinning it on his index finger like a cowboy from Western movies. "After you, Perfect Soldier. I´m sure we´ll meet again."

Wordlessly, the group walked out of the control room, followed by three guards whose rifles pointed at their backs. Kenji used all of his willpower to keep his control while watching Heero and Usagi walk in front of him. It seemed to him that they were walking closer and closer together with every corner they were told to turn. It took everything in him not to go over there and throttle the boy who had his arm around his precious daughter.

Soon, they reached the way they had come in, and with a quick push of a few buttons, the large doors opened. Usagi squinted at the sunlight, having been inside the base for a long time. As soon as Duo, the last person in their group, stepped through the door, it hissed shut, leaving them outside.

Before Kenji could open his mouth, Heero spoke up, "Let´s find Quatre and Wufei and get out of here. We need to come up with a new plan before we act again. We´re currently greatly outnumbered, and Mamoru won´t refrain from gunfire for long."

Duo and Trowa both nodded, getting their guns from their waistbands. Heero took out one from inside his jacket and looked questioningly at Usagi.

"I have one," she stated calmly, removing the gun he had left with her before. "He took out the bullets though."

Heero nodded in understanding, and gave her an extra clip that he carried. She expertly loaded the gun right in front of Duo and Kenji´s shocked faces.

"Usagi. . . ." Kenji trailed off, not knowing how to respond to seeing his "innocent" daughter load a gun that she carried on her.

"I´ll explain later, Dad," Usagi replied, purposely avoiding his eyes. "Let´s get back to Quatre´s mansion first."

Kenji nodded dumbly, and accepted the extra gun Trowa handed him. Today had been full of surprises for him. . . and it wasn´t over yet.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi stumbled backwards as soon as she was tackled by a sobbing Minako.

"Usagi, I´m so glad you´re safe! I´m so sorry! I should have been there with you!" she continued to apologize.

Usagi smiled, hugging her cousin tightly. "I´m okay now. Don´t cry, Minako. I´m sorry too," she replied.

She looked up to see Ikuko standing behind Minako, and she smiled shakily at her mother. "I didn´t know you and Dad were here, Mom."

She removed herself from Minako´s bear hug to embrace her mother, who returned it heartily.

"The mission was successful then?" Lady Une asked from the end of the large hallway.

Duo glanced nervously at Trowa, who shrugged in return. How were they supposed to explain this turn of events? Quatre and Wufei looked curiously at the two of them once they noticed this exchange of looks. Since Usagi had been alive, they had merely assumed that the mission had gone as planned, much to the blond-haired boy´s relief.

"No, it was aborted," Heero stated calmly, walking away without another word to any of them. They watched silently as he turned the corner and climbed up the set of stairs to the second floor, disappearing from their sight.

Une frowned, looking back at the other pilots, confused. "Aborted?" she echoed.

Trowa pointed silently to Duo, who muttered, "Me again? Doesn´t anyone else here know how to talk?"

"Just spill it, Maxwell," Wufei snapped, impatient.

Duo stuck out his tongue at the Chinese boy, who grew red with rage. However, before he could say anything, Quatre quickly stepped in between them. "Later," he commanded, shooting a glare of his own at Wufei. "I think we all want to know what Heero meant. Go on, Duo."

The braided boy shrugged. "You know the mission," he started. "Well, Usagi was held at gunpoint, and the guy, I think Heero called him Mamoru, told him to choose between the cannon plans and Usagi. Considering Usagi´s alive, I think you understand what Heero chose."

"Wait, Yuy handed over the cannon plans to save the onna´s life?" Wufei questioned.

Trowa nodded in confirmation, and even Kenji, who had been the other person present, sighed in agreement. "Yes, I suppose I should be grateful to the boy," he mumbled.

"But weren´t we not supposed to care about her life unless we didn´t have to hand over the plans?" Wufei blurted out.

At this, Kenji, Ikuko, Minako, and Usagi all looked shocked.

"What?!" Kenji exclaimed. "I thought you said you would do everything in your power to save her!" He glared accusingly at the boys and Une.

Une winced under her employee´s intense glare. Seriously, that man could be worse than Heero if he wanted to be. "Yes," she admitted, "but as the leader of the Preventers, you must understand that I cannot exchange the safety of the world for the life of one person."

"That´s not an excuse!" Kenji shouted.

"I´m not making an excuse," Une replied calmly, trying to make Kenji understand her position. "I´m telling you the truth. Kenji, will you try to look at it from my point of view? The cannon plans have the potential to destroy the world. I cannot give them up just because one person´s life is in danger, whether that person is me, you, or your daughter."

Kenji´s glare never faltered. "That boy could! Why couldn´t you?" he retorted.

The sentence rang through the otherwise silent hallway, and it seemed like the impact of Heero´s decision truly hit them for the first time.

"He. . .gave up everything, for my life," Usagi whispered to herself, almost in a trance. "The mission, Earth, all the people. He chose me."

"Hey," Duo suddenly interrupted. "Does this mean that he´s officially failed his second mission?"

Usagi´s eyes widened at Duo´s comment. The last time Heero had "failed" a mission, he had tried to get himself killed. She turned to her father and grabbed both of his arms in her hands. "Dad, promise me something!" she pleaded.

"What?" Kenji asked, looking down at his daughter.

"Don´t hate Heero, please," Usagi requested softly. "You don´t have to like him just yet, but don´t hate him."

Kenji´s face reddened, suddenly remembering the scene as they walked out of the base. "Wait, there´s something I need to ask you about that boy," he started.

"I´ll explain later," Usagi replied quickly. "I promise. But I´m so worried about him right now. I´m. . .afraid he´ll do something really stupid. Just don´t hate him. He saved my life, if anything. You owe him that much."

Kenji sighed, falling victim to his only daughter´s pleading. "Alright, alright. I promise I won´t hate him," he grumbled.

"Thanks Dad!" Usagi said, giving her father a kiss on the cheek before running to the stairs.

"Wait, Usagi!" Ikuko´s voice stopped her. She had been wondering about this as soon as she heard that the young man had chosen her daughter´s life over the safety of the earth. "Tell me honestly. What is your relationship with him?"

Usagi paused, looking down at them from about midway up the large set of stairs. She debated whether or not to tell them, and how much. Well, it was all going to come up eventually anyway. "I. . .love him," she answered quietly.

Taking advantage of the stunned silence, Usagi ran all the way up the stairs, going in search of Heero´s room. She needed to talk to him.

The silence hung in the air for another few minutes, until Duo blurted out, "When did this happen?"

"I think there´s a lot more to their relationship than we think," Quatre spoke up.

"They knew each other before this protection mission began," Trowa told them. When everyone turned to look at him, he continued, "She´s much better at self-defense and handling weapons than she should be if she had only learnt it from us for a few days. And Duo, if you recall, Heero had a different gun when he came to the Preventers´ office."

The braided boy nodded. "Yea, I remember," he confirmed. "I made fun of him."

"Did you notice who had the old gun?" Trowa continued.

Duo blinked, as did Quatre, Wufei, and Une. "Wait, you mean to tell me that. . . ." Duo trailed off, his eyes widening at this new piece of information.

Trowa nodded, then went back to being mute. His job was done.

Kenji scowled and stated, "I can´t believe this. I´m going to go up there and-"

He was cut off by his wife, who grabbed his arm suddenly. "Dear, let´s give them a little time, alright? If he was willing to give up the world for Usagi, then he won´t hurt her," she reasoned.

~*~*~*~*~

He stood on the balcony of his room, leaning on the railing as he watched the sunset. The colours of red, orange, yellow, pink, and lavender blended together to form a beautiful scene. He couldn´t help but wonder what would happen next. Since that day he had met Usagi, his world had been turned upside down. He didn´t know what was right and what was wrong anymore. He didn´t understand anything. And now, he had just exchanged the lives of every single person on this planet for her.

He closed his eyes. Why? Like Mamoru said, he shouldn´t have. The Perfect Soldier would have chosen the world. And he was the Perfect Soldier. So why? His heart squeezed painfully, reminding him of the horror he had felt when he had seen the gun at her temple. Outside, he had been the epitome of coolness. Inside, he was terrified for her life. He didn´t want her to die. He didn´t want her to suffer.

He felt her presence before he heard the sound of the balcony door sliding open, but he remained motionless.

"Heero," her soft voice called him.

He didn´t answer her. He didn´t know how to answer her, so he merely stood, looking into the horizon. She seemed to sense his loss of words, and she came up next to him, looking up at his profile, framed by the light of the setting sun. The wind blew gently, keeping his hair just out of his eyes.

"I´m sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" he replied gruffly. "You didn´t do anything."

"That´s just it," she answered. "I should have done something. Remember? You said that you didn´t want me to put my life on the line, but I did. I wandered off the property, and it´s because of me that the cannon plans are now in that guy´s hands! It´s my fault you had to abort that mission!"

He turned to look at her sharply. "You know about the mission?" he asked.

She nodded, lowering her eyes. "Duo told everyone just now," she stated.

Heero nodded in understanding. Of course, they had to explain to Lady Une somehow. "It´s not your fault," he responded. "It was our mission to keep an eye on you. You did nothing wrong."

"But it´s not your fault either!" Usagi argued. "It´s because of me that the whole world is in danger."

"Because I chose to put it in danger," Heero replied, never looking at her. "I didn´t have to give up the plans."

"But you did," she finished, "for me. Why, Heero? Why didn´t you just let me die?"

He went silent again. His mind whirled, and his glazed eyes suddenly cleared up. "I was wondering that just now," he started. "I´m the Perfect Soldier. I´m not supposed to feel. Mamoru knew that. But for you, I broke all the rules. For you, I felt. When I saw you there, at his gunpoint, I couldn´t describe the blind panic that threatened to consume everything I knew."

He paused, then turned to look at Usagi, whose curious expression made her look the more innocent in the faint gleam of light from the setting sun. "I chose you over the world because you were more important than the world to me," he finished softly, completely losing the monotone she had known so well. "You _are_ my world."

Usagi´s eyes filled with tears of happiness. She threw her arms around Heero´s neck and savored the warmth she felt when he wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her close to him. He dropped a light kiss on her temple, tightening his hold on her.

"Usagi," he began hoarsely. "I. . .You shouldn´t be near me at all. You´ll put your life in danger, just like at the base. You were only captured because of me."

"Don´t push me away, Heero," she pleaded, burying her face into his chest. "I put you in as much danger as you put me in. You were lured onto enemy territory because of me."

He couldn´t deny it. He couldn´t tell himself that he didn´t want her light, her warmth, her comfort in his life. He didn´t want to push her away. But was their moments of happiness, no matter how brief, worth the danger they would have to face everyday?

"Usagi, this. . .me and you, we would never work out. I can´t. I can´t put your life in danger because of me," Heero reasoned. "I don´t want you to suffer."

Usagi looked up at him, her wide eyes revealing nothing but understanding. "Heero, you´re making me suffer more by pushing me away," she explained. "I want you to be here with me. I want you to be here _for_ me. I don´t care about the danger! I don´t care about anything else! I just want this, you and me, forever. I love you!"

Heero´s eyes widened in disbelief. "You. . .love me?" he uttered. "Even after all this? I put you in danger."

Usagi shook her head. "That was nothing compared to what I felt when you left me, you know?" she responded softly. "I feel like I can face anything and everything as long as you´re with me."

"My life can end in the next twenty-four hours," he told her seriously.

"Then why don´t you let me treasure the time I do have with you? Do you not care about me at all?" she asked, knowing full well how he felt.

Heero tightened his arms around her waist in response, pulling her body close to his. He leaned down, lightly touching her lips with his. She sighed softly, her sweet breath tickling his skin. Her innocent action enticed him, making him want more. He closed the small space between their lips, thoroughly tasting her for the first time in months. Usagi responded wholeheartedly, pouring all her passion and love into the kiss. She felt the light pressure of his tongue on her lips, and she opened her mouth to give him better access. She reached up, running her hands through his hair, moving down his broad shoulders.

Heero slowly broke the kiss, his breath coming out as unevenly as hers. "I do care about you, Usagi," he choked out. "I told you that you´re my world, and I didn´t lie to you. I love you. I have never stopped loving you, even though we´ve been apart for six months. God knows I´ve tried."

Usagi smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. So she had been right all along. "Then stop trying," she stated softly. "Let me be here for you. Let me love you."

Heero closed his eyes, trying to find his common sense. Every logical thought told him to let her go, to give up on ever having a relationship with her. But with her this close, he couldn´t think clearly. The illogical thoughts were winning. His heart was winning. His eyes opened and he cupped Usagi´s face in his hands.

"I really should say no, Usagi," he began softly. "Whether I put you in danger or you put me in danger, our relationship won´t be a normal one. I can´t do for you all the things that other guys do for their girlfriends."

"But I don´t want any of that," Usagi answered. "I don´t need any of that. Everything you´ve ever done for me is enough. It´s more than enough. I don´t know anyone else who would give up everything for a girl. You´re you, Heero, and I love you for it. If you´re so worried about my life, then stay with me. Stay and protect me."

Heero remained silent as he thought everything over. He really shouldn´t, but didn´t he want her to be happy? If he truly was hurting her more by not being with her, then shouldn´t he stay? He stared into her crystal blue eyes, where determination flashed. She had already sorted through all her feelings, and she would not give up on them. Slowly, he nodded, realizing that it was time to consider her feelings as well as his own. He would protect her. He would never let anything harm her again. "Then, I´ll stay with you for as long as you want. I´ll protect you forever, and we´ll be together for as long as you love me," he decided.

"And as long as you love me," Usagi replied. "I don´t want to force you to be with me even if you feel nothing for me."

"That won´t be a problem," Heero responded in monotone once again, returning to look at the setting sun. "I´ll love you forever."

~*~*~*~*~

He watched as the red wine swirled slowly in his wineglass. The rich dark red seemed to glow in the faint light of his room, giving it an unnatural gleam.

"When will we proceed with the next step, Mr. Chiba?" the guard who had just served the wine asked.

"When I say so," Mamoru replied coolly. He picked up the glass and took a small sip, savoring the taste of the rich red wine. "Dismissed. I will call you when the next step is ready to go."

The guard nodded and left the room as quietly as a mouse.

Mamoru turned on his laptop, bringing up the pictures of Heero and Usagi. "Why did you give up the world for her, Perfect Soldier?" he asked the picture on the screen. "Don´t all humans work for their own gain? Why do you care so much about someone else´s life? Isn´t your mission all you care about?! Why do you care for other people?!"

He slammed the glass onto desk, sending its shards flying across the table and onto the floor. The wine spilt onto the papers that were laid out on the wooden desk, turning them a shade of red.

True, he had gotten what he wanted, and he had to admit that a part of him always expected it to turn out this way. But there was also another part of him, which had always been certain that he could hurt Heero worse that the other boy had hurt him, and he had thought that, he could succeed by making Heero lose the person he loved most.

*Flashback*

_He blinked a few times in order to adjust to the darkness of the room. The little five-year-old turned to look at the older man behind him, whose hair was turning gray. He wore a pair of glasses, through which he examined the little boy._

_"You are the perfect candidate!" he exclaimed almost happily. "You don´t have a name, correct, boy?" _

_The little boy´s midnight blue eyes looked at the man, seemingly afraid of him. "I. . .can´t remember," he whispered, tears slowly clouding his vision. _

_He let out a cry when the man slapped him. "Silence," he ordered. "From now on, you won´t cry. You will never feel sadness. You will never feel anything." _

_"But-" he started. _

_"No buts," the old man replied, signaling the little boy to follow him. _

_The two continued soundlessly down the hallway. The little boy was afraid to say anything to the man who "adopted" him. They stopped in front of a metal door that resembled the gate of the local jail. The old man opened the door, revealing a square room with plain gray walls. There was a tiny window on the far wall. A small twin bed stood in one corner with a matching dresser. _

_"This is your room," the old man told him. "From now on, you´ll live here." _

_The little boy nodded slowly. "Do I call you 'dad´ then?" he asked innocently. _

_"No," he answered crossly. "You can call me Doctor J." _

_"Alright," the boy responded. _

_"Boy, let me ask you again. What do you remember before you woke up in that hospital?" J asked. _

_The boy felt tears well up in his eyes. "I. . .can´t remember anything," he whispered. Quickly, he wiped the tears away before the old doctor could hit him again. _

_"Good, good," the doctor commented joyfully. "Then surely, no one would miss you." _

_"Dr. J," the boy spoke up timidly. "What´s my name?" _

_J looked thoughtful for the first time since the little boy had met him. "Well, considering what I need you for, I suppose. . .Chiba Mamoru would be a good name," he muttered. "Yes, your name shall be Mamoru." _

_"Protector of the Earth?" the little boy asked, confused. "Why would I protect the Earth?" _

_"Because I´m going to train you," the doctor answered with a smirk. "You will become my Perfect Soldier." _

*End Flashback*

*****************************************************************

End of Chapter 10.

AN: Before you yell at me about the date, I´ll let you know that I finished writing this on June 18, 2002 at 8:20 p.m. Toronto time. =P That means I _am_ on time, but ff.net was having hardware problems and wouldn´t let people update.

07/10/02: Also, I wanted to let you guys know that I´m going to leave for Hong Kong for a little more than a month. I don´t know whether I would be able to write while I am there, however, motivation would help. *hint* Review! *hint* ^_~ Email would be nice too.

08/20/02: I'm back from HK, and I found ff.net actually working. =P So I posted. I'll be working on the next chapter soon. I did plan on posting before I leave, but that didn't work out, seeing as ff.net wouldn't let people upload, even on the day I had to leave Toronto. However, this has been sitting on my site for a month and a half now, so big huggles and toodles for the people who checked my site AND sent me an email. I appreciated them. ^^ Again, please review!

Alright, see you all later! ^^v


	12. Chapter 11: Coming Clean

Silent Waltz by Hikari-chan

Disclaimer: I own my Sailormoon tapes, my Gundam Wing posters, and that nice metal shield my muses gave me as an early Christmas present.

AN: *coughs* I don´t even know what to say, except maybe asking nicely that you don´t kill me. Yes, I know it´s been forever and a decade, but hey, it´s here now, right? *looks at unhappy readers and sweatdrops* Christmas motivates me. It should come around something like 6 times a year.

Bluejello: Well, maybe everyone picked them up and I just didn´t know. ^^;;;; I mean, if people don´t mention it or ask about it, I assume they didn´t pick it up. . . .

lilmakochan: I can´t wait till the end either. . Granted, not for the same reason as you, but at least the end is something I look forward to writing.

Heart Soul: O.o *is speechless* Keep reading. That´s all I can say.

Celestial Dreamblaze: I´m guilty of using clichés ^^;;; but I hate overused plot elements. I´m glad you agree that it´s better that Mamoru doesn´t have an infatuation with Usagi.

Everyone else: *glomps* I love you guys. Sometimes, I wish there was enough space to address you all specifically (and not go over 3 pages of AN´s). Your continued support has both surprised and motivated me. Merry early Christmas! Hope you guys get everything you want!

Warnings: transitional chapter, Mamoru is still OOC (but you´ll get some insight), and Heero´s OOC too. ^^;;;;

On with it. . . .

************************************

Chapter 11 – Coming Clean

************************************

Usagi tried to snuggle deeper into the warmth around her as the bright, unmerciful rays of the morning sun attacked her eyelids. She buried her face into the pillow beside her and let out a whimper.

"It´s too early," she muttered under her breath, refusing to open her eyes.

"It´ll be too late if you don´t get up and go back to your room now," her pillow replied, making Usagi snap her eyes open.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she met Heero´s amused gaze. Apparently, he had been watching her while she rolled around in the bed, mumbling to herself. Realizing that, Usagi had the decency to blush.

The night before, she had refused to leave him, afraid that everything he had said and promised her was a dream. He had, of course, made her go back to her room so that her father didn´t think they were doing something they weren´t supposed to. Thankfully, the other occupants of the house seemed to have sensed their need to have a talk with each other, and no one had checked up on either him or Usagi. A little bit past midnight, she had snuck back to his room and found him looking into the night sky, again. This time, however, he couldn´t make her go back to her own bed, and she had ended up falling asleep in his arms.

Usagi yawned, stretching her arms. "How long have you been awake?" she asked Heero sleepily.

"Just a couple minutes longer than you," he replied. Then, sitting up, he glanced at the clock sitting on his night-table. "Seven-thirty," he reported to her.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Usagi answered, taking the subtle hint for her to leave his room. She jumped out of the bed and walked around to his side. "I´ll see you at breakfast?"

Heero nodded, and grabbing her chin, he gave her a quick kiss before he released her. "I love you," he murmured, brushing a strand of her blond hair out of her eyes.

Usagi felt her heart soar, and grinning back happily, she pecked him on the lips again. "I love you too," she responded before sauntering away to the bedroom door. Gingerly opening it and peering into the hallway, she made sure no one was within watching distance before she dashed across the hall and down three doors to her own room. She closed the door behind her and sighed in happiness. She always felt like this, all light-headed and blissfully content, every time he admitted that to her, which really wasn´t too often. Not that she minded. It just made the times when he actually told her more precious.

_*Flashback* _

_He smiled a little to himself as he watched the sun set over the horizon. However, it wasn´t the painted picture of dusk that made him so happy. He glanced down at the tiny girl in his embrace who had her head resting on his shoulder. Much as he tried to keep up the walls of ice around his frozen heart, they hadn´t been able to hold up against her warmth and radiance. Over the few months that they had known each other, she had slowly gone from his student to the only thing that mattered in the world to him. Yet, he didn´t understand why she was so important, why she was able to evoke such protective and caring instincts in him. _

_"Heero," her musical voice whispered, breaking him out of his train of thoughts. _

_"Yea?" he replied, tightening his hold around her waist. _

_"If I told you something about the way I feel, would you laugh at me?" she asked. "I mean, I know that you said I had to control my emotions, but-" _

_"That´s only in a fight," he interrupted. "Don´t stop feeling otherwise. The only way to live your life to the fullest is by living according to your emotions. Don´t throw them away. Don´t do what I did." _

_She turned to face him, and reaching up, she slowly cupped his face in her small hands. "Maybe you lost your emotions sometime in the past, but you have them now, right?" she said. "I know you feel. I´ve seen you smile, frown, be angry." _

_"Yes, I suppose," he muttered, "I´m learning." _

_And he was right. He was learning to be human again, slowing shedding the mold of the Perfect Soldier. Through her, he was seeing the world from a normal person´s point of view, living the life of someone who hadn´t been scarred by the war. Of course, some habits would never break, such as carrying a gun around. His gun was like a millionaire´s wallet. Even if he was standing next to the world´s best pickpocket, he´d know the millisecond his gun was missing. However, Usagi had shown him some other aspects of life. They had tried everything from eating ice-cream to bungee jumping. And even though he found ice-cream the most interesting food he had come across, (and bungee jumping rather. . .unexciting), he was still slowly blending in with society. Not only that, but he had found that he had growing feelings for the pipsqueak of a girl, who had improved greatly in self-defense since day one. _

_He watched with keen eyes as she fidgeted with strands of her hair, her cheeks flushing. She dared to glance up momentarily at him, and suddenly found herself caught in the intense blue of his eyes. _

_"You look nervous," he suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. "What´s wrong?" _

_She didn´t answer, instead wondering if there was a way to get an answer without saying anything. Unconsciously, she let her tongue wet her lips, and she noticed that his attention jumped to her quick, pink tongue that appeared as quickly as it disappeared. Her heart suddenly pounded against her chest at least ten times faster, and she knew that she just got the answer to the questions she had asked earlier. _

_Without a word, she slowly closed the distance between their faces, which were already only inches apart. She let her eyelids flutter close as her lips brushed briefly against his warm ones. She was about to pull away to see his reaction when all of sudden, she found herself pinned to his hard chest, one of his strong arms around her waist and the other holding her head still. His lips applied pressure to hers, silently asking for permission. She let her slender arms snake up around his neck to pull him closer before complying. As he explored her sweet mouth, Usagi felt like she had just gone to heaven. God, how many times had she dreamed this moment up? She could only wish that it would never end as she returned the passion. _

_Heero, for his part, had no idea what was going on. Her lips were as soft as the ripe skin of a peach, and once they had brushed his, his body had tingled all over, and his natural instinct had told him right away not to let her get away. And he hadn´t. He didn´t know what had possessed him to do this, but whichever part of his brain that was, it was now laughing in glee as he kissed the small girl hungrily, almost as though he wanted to devour her. As his common sense slowly kicked in, he gently broke the earth-shattering kiss, blinking to focus his eyes so that he could see the girl whose breathing had become laboured. _

_Usagi smiled dreamily up at him. "We have to do that again," she whispered, making him smirk at her. _

_Just as he was about to fulfill her request, she found the courage to confess what had been troubling her all afternoon today, and the day before, and the week before. "I love you, Heero," she murmured softly. _

_Heero froze, his Prussian blue eyes staring intently into hers. "What?" he finally managed to choke out. _

_Fear flashed into her eyes, and suddenly, she didn´t know where she had found the bravery to admit that. But it was too late now. By the lost look in his eyes, she knew that he had heard her. What she didn´t know was the reason he was so confused. Taking a deep breath, she repeated timidly, "I love you, Heero." _

_"You love me?" Heero echoed. "I. . .don´t understand." _

_Usagi frowned. He looked genuinely confused, and she was no longer afraid. "What do you mean?" _

_Heero furrowed his brow. What is love? He had never experienced it, never felt it, never known it. In theory, it was a strong feeling of liking someone, but to what extent? "I don´t know understand what love is," he answered Usagi. _

_The aforementioned girl blinked, then let a slow smile cross her face. She wanted to laugh, she really did. Here she was, admitting that she loved him and afraid that he didn´t feel the same way when the poor boy didn´t even know what "I love you" meant. _

_"It´s a feeling," she explained gently. "A feeling that´s stronger than anything in the world. It´s something that you feel when you like someone, but it´s so much more than that at the same time. You want to protect them, care for them, spend time with them. You want them to be happy and if-" _

_"If they´re not, then you´re mad at the person who made them unhappy. If they´re sad, you want to kill the person who hurt them. You just want to see them smile, and you want to spend forever with them. The only person that matters in the world is them," Heero finished for her, leaving her openly gaping at him. "Is that right?" _

_"Yes, yes, that´s right," Usagi stuttered. "But, how did you. . .?" _

_"Then, I understand now," Heero muttered to himself. "I understand why you´re so important to me." _

_"Why?" Usagi asked, her voice so soft that it was barely even a whisper. _

_Heero turned to look at her, his eyes piercing her as though he was looking right into her soul. "Because I love you too." _

_*End Flashback* _

No, Heero was definitely not vocal about his feelings for her, but actions spoke louder than words. And she knew that both of them would go to hell and back for the other. Humming happily to herself, Usagi dressed in an white sundress with patterns of cherry blossoms on it. She quickly ran out of the room, and almost fell down when she ran smack into Heero.

"Someone´s in a hurry," he commented, taking in her appearance, which was flawless, at least, to him it was.

Usagi flushed. "Well, I knew how fast you get ready, and I didn´t want you to face the wolves alone," she huffed, straightening up and smoothing out her dress.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I didn´t go down to breakfast by myself?" he asked dryly.

Usagi replied by smacking him in the arm and sticking out her tongue. Heero watched, amused, as she turned her back on him and hurried down the stairs. As soon as she disappeared, he allowed his hands to clench tightly into fists. He cursed mentally, wishing this could last, but he knew that even wishful thinking had its limits. As soon as breakfast was over, he needed to go make plans for the next step, whatever that was going to be. With his more or less selfish decision, the situation had become much more complicated. He had to stop Mamoru, and he had to do it quickly, before Mamoru figured out his plan. Plus, however he went about this, he couldn´t let Usagi know he was going to do it, because she would insist she help. And he refused to let her become anymore involved than she already had.

~*~*~*~*~

"No, Dad, we haven´t slept together," Usagi replied flatly to her father´s untactful questions as she stabbed the sausage in her plate with her silver fork.

"But he kissed you," Kenji stated rather than asked. He was hoping for a negative answer, and didn´t get what he expected as his daughter nodded.

The rest of the group, including Lady Une, watched, interested, as the man turned five different shades of red while glaring at Heero, who was calmly sipping his morning coffee as though he wasn´t the centre of attention of eight different pairs of eyes, not including the maids´. Usagi, for her part, was pondering what colour her father´s face might turn next if she was to go over and feed Heero his breakfast. She let out a mental giggle at the thought.

"I´ll shoot him!" Kenji bellowed, making everyone but Heero and Usagi wince.

Said couple merely gave him identical looks of amusement, then decided wisely to say nothing. This, however, only made Kenji fume more.

"Of all the impolite, impertinent, insolent, disrespectful-" he ranted on.

"Dad," Usagi interrupted, setting down her fork on her plate, "if you don´t like the way we´ve handled it, then I´m willing to listen to a suggestion. I love him; he loves me. Now, what do we do?"

Kenji alternated between spluttering and glaring. Finally, looking as though he was on the verge of hyperventilating, he managed to choke out, "How did this happen?"

Usagi and Heero exchanged a look with each other. No way were they going to tell the entire story. Duo and Minako would no doubt have a field day, and both were them would get shot with Kenji´s trusty shotgun, Heero for teaching her, and Usagi for begging him to teach.

Noticing the uncomfortable silence, Usagi cleared her throat. She gave Heero a glance, and seeing the slight nod from him, she started to tell of how they met, then skipped over the entire part about him training her, merely concluding lamely that they had become friends and then fallen in love. It took her a total of ten minutes to tell, and from the looks on the other occupants of the room´s faces, they didn´t buy any of it.

"Usagi," Wufei began flatly, "this is Yuy we´re talking about. I don´t think we´re going to believe that he saw you, then decided to be friends."

Usagi shrugged. "I´m insistent on some things," she defended.

Ikuko and Minako slowly nodded. Usagi could be very stubborn on some issues, and if she had made up her mind to become Heero´s friend once upon a time, then she probably did do everything in her power to make it happen. Of course, that didn´t mean that her mother and her cousin believed the overly simple story entirely. There were definitely missing pieces, which the two knew that Usagi wouldn´t tell everyone here and now. They´ll just have to get her alone afterwards.

"Do you want to take a walk with me, Heero?" Usagi asked, getting and smiling brightly at him.

Heero shook his head. "You go ahead," he murmured. "Lady Une wants to talk to me."

Une blinked and stared at Heero. She had not said anything to him since their brief encounter yesterday afternoon. Granted, she did want to talk to him, but she had not requested his presence in a meeting with her. So, either Heero was psychic, or he was looking for an excuse.

Usagi nodded. Reading along what she thought was Heero´s current train of thought, she knew that he had to explain to the Preventers leader about his decision. She just hoped he wouldn´t get into too much trouble. "Then I´ll see you later in the afternoon," she decided. "Just as well, I know Minako and Mom are dying to ask questions."

"Usagi!" came the shocking replies from both women.

Usagi laughed, then motioned for them to follow her. "Show me the roses, Minako. You told me once that they were really beautiful," she remembered with a grin. At the time, she had been too distressed over Heero´s treatment of her to notice, but now, she wanted to enjoy her surroundings to their fullest.

Quatre smiled and followed them out, signaling Rashid and the Maganacs to follow him. Their mission was not over yet, and he had no plans to repeat the catastrophe that happened the last time the two girls were unmonitored. He would, of course, give them their privacy, but he could still keep an eye on them.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Une began to open her mouth to question Heero, but Kenji, having regained his senses after his daughter´s explanation, beat her to it. He stood up and glared at all the occupants around the table. "You and you," he pointed to Heero and Duo, "are coming with me. I need to talk to both of you."

Duo winced. "This is your fault, Heero," he muttered. "How´d I get dragged into this?"

"Hn," was Heero brilliant reply.

The two boys followed Kenji into a separate room. It just happened to be the sitting room where Kenji had first met them. He remained silent for the first couple of minutes, trying to organize his thoughts.

"First, who are you?" he began, turning to face them and trying his best not to glare. He wanted to understand the situation, not provoke them into defending themselves.

Heero and Duo exchanged a look, then the ex-pilot of Deathscythe gave a sigh. He knew this would come out sooner or later, and if he wanted to be in a permanent relationship with Minako, then it would have to be now. If he lied to Minako´s uncle now, the elder man would not trust him again. Besides, he was the top secret weapon creator for the Preventers. His instincts told him it would be fine. Heero gave him a slight nod of approval, obviously agreeing with his thoughts that they should come clean now.

"People call me Duo Maxwell, and we know him," he paused, pointing at his best friend, "as Heero Yuy."

If Kenji noticed that Duo didn´t use "my name is," then he gave no sign he had. "I know that already. What I mean is-" He stopped suddenly, seeing the hand that Duo held up for silence. He wasn´t done yet.

"And we are the former pilots of the Gundams Deathscythe and Wing," he finished solemnly, "alias 02 and 01."

Kenji stared. It was the only way to describe what he was doing. He stared at the two boys in front of him, whose actions at the base suddenly made much more sense to him. It was also blindingly obvious now why Une had chosen them as his daughter and niece´s bodyguards and claimed them as the best there were.

"I know you probably don´t approve of us being close to Minako and Usagi," Duo continued quickly, deciding to take advantage of Kenji´s momentary shock, "but I promise that we´ll leave them out of anything relating to our pasts. We don´t have any intention of hurting them and we definitely don´t want to go back to being Gundam pilots with the world in peace."

Duo paused, examining Kenji´s face thoughtfully. This was probably one of the few times in life when he was so completely serious and formal. He waited for a reply, the yelling and screaming and threatening that he expected would come from Kenji´s mouth now that their pasts have been revealed to him.

"Do they know? I mean, do Usagi and Minako know about this?" Kenji asked calmly instead, much to Duo´s obvious surprise.

"No," Duo drawled, looking anywhere but at Kenji. "I haven´t told Minako. I´m afraid of what she´ll think of me," he admitted softly, "and also because she might be in more danger if she knew. We have too many enemies."

Kenji looked expectantly at Heero, who stared back. "She knows," was all he said.

"And she doesn´t care," Kenji finished for him. "My daughter would never judge you because of what you did in the past."

Heero looked away. "I never understood how she could find it in her heart to not only forgive me for the deaths I caused, but also to. . . ." he trailed off.

"To love you," Kenji murmured. He stared at the boy in front of him. He had heard many things about 01, the Perfect Soldier, pilot of Wing Gundam, not only during the war, but also after. There were facts, of course, but there were also many rumors. He had always thought 01 would be cold, emotionless, heartless. Yet, the boy in front him was not so. He may appear that way, but Kenji now knew that beneath the surface was someone who loved his daughter so much, he would forgo everything he had, everything he was, for her.

"I don´t know why either of them love you two suicidal, crazy, impertinent, rebellious boys either, but knowing the two of them, I can´t do anything about it. I only want them to be taken care of," Kenji grudgingly stated.

Heero and Duo blinked simultaneously. They both knew that this was the closest to an approval they would ever get from the older man in front of them.

"She will be taken care of," Heero replied quietly. "Even if I have to give up my life to make sure she lives."

"Same with Minako," Duo added, not to be outdone. "I swear to the Shinigami that I´ll always, always protect her."

Kenji nodded. He believed Heero, and strangely enough, he believed Duo as well. "Duo, you need to tell my niece. If I know her as well as I think I do, then she´ll forgive you, just like Usagi did," he assured him. "If she finds out on her own, then she´ll hate you, no matter what reason you had for keeping it from her."

Duo nodded, then turned to Heero as though a sudden thought had just struck him. "Out of curiosity, how much does Usagi know?" he asked.

"Everything," Heero replied. "even about you and the others being pilots."

Duo winced, then turned back to Kenji. "I´ll tell her sometime today," he promised. "Since Usagi seems to forgive all of us, I think Minako would at least forgive me."

"If someone wanted to target you, it wouldn´t matter whether Minako knows or not. They´ll use her to get to you anyway. If she knows, then at least, she´ll be careful," Heero told him.

"That´s the reason you told my daughter," Kenji realized.

"No, that´s the excuse I gave myself for telling her," Heero answered. "I told her because of what you said earlier."

Kenji crossed his arms. "It doesn´t matter now. But I will give the two of you a warning before you run off thinking you´re free of me forever. If either of you ever hurt Usagi or Minako in anyway," he paused, glaring at the two ex-Gundam pilots, "I will shoot you and send you to hell."

~*~*~*~*~

Une paced back and forth in the briefing room, trying to piece together what she wanted to say to the so-called Perfect Soldier, who was sitting in one of the chairs, calming tying away on his laptop computer. Finally, she decided to just be blunt about what she needed to know.

"Did you know what you were doing back there?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I don´t think I could misunderstand 'I want the cannon plans or this girl dies´," Heero replied, back to his monotone.

"You exchanged the whole world for one girl!" Une stated in exasperation.

"And?" Heero continued placidly.

"How? Why? I trusted you with the mission," Une tried to reason.

"No, you trusted _us_ with the mission," Heero corrected. "I made the decision, but no one stopped me."

"They wouldn´t dare," Une replied. "Why didn´t you tell me you love her before?"

"Why would I?" Heero retorted. "It´s a personal matter."

"Personal feelings get in the way," Une said. "I thought you knew that."

"I do," Heero said, standing up and obviously fed up with the conversation. "Do you honestly think I´m stupid?"

"At this point, I think that your emotions are blinding you," Une answered. "You need to realize that the world has millions of people. Your personal feelings just traded away all their lives for one person. The Preventers exist to prevent war, and your actions may very well lead to the beginning of one."

"It won´t," Heero responded calmly, snapping shut his laptop. "The man who made the deal wants to settle personal issues with me. Usagi was targeted because of my relation to her, and for no other reason."

Une shook her head. "The fact remains that he now has a cannon that has the potential to destroy the world," she stated. "Seeing so many personal issues of yours are involved with this, I´m afraid I´ll have to take you off this matter and leave it in the others´ hands. It will do no good for your personal feelings to cause a failure again."

"The only failure in this mission was my failure to prevent Usagi from being kidnapped the first time," Heero replied, then added before Une could say anything, "and I don´t think that´s your decision to make, frankly speaking. Chiba Mamoru wants to deal with _me_, and if he thinks destroying the Preventers is the only way to get to me, then that´s what he´ll do."

Picking up the laptop and walking to the door of the room, he muttered to himself under his breath, "He´ll have to break the code on the disc first."

~*~*~*~*~

_Building process instructions access. . .denied. _

_Materials needed access. . .denied. _

_Blueprints in-depth analysis. . .denied. _

Growling, Mamoru slammed his fist onto the desk of the base´s control room. He had been outsmarted by the Perfect Soldier, and he was not at all pleased about it. The blueprints showed up, as did all kinds of other information, but all the instructions for building, all the necessary materials, and everything he needed to actually build the cannon were blocked off with a complicated code, one he knew was courtesy of Heero Yuy. Heero had obviously counted on the fact that Mamoru would not check everything before letting them out, and he had been right. Mamoru had not even bother to look for those until a day later, and it was too late.

He swore and drank a long sip of the red wine in his glass. He should have known. He should have known that J´s Perfect Soldier wouldn´t hand over something like this so easily and willingly. Yet, the girl must have meant a lot to him if the basic blueprints had gotten to his hands in the first place. The old Heero, the one he knew from their training days, would not allow him even a glimpse of them.

*_Flashback_*

_He couldn´t help it. He stared in shock at the man that was the closest to a father he had, then at the boy who had been his competition since the day Dr. J had returned with him after a bombing incident. _

_"Stop gaping, Mamoru," Dr. J ordered the sixteen year old teen with a clank of his mechanical claws. "It´s not becoming." _

_Young Mamoru turned to look at him. "But I thought I was supposed to pilot Wing. I practiced in it! Everyday I trained!" he protested. _

_"There will only be one of you who´s going to pilot Wing, and that´s going to be Heero," Dr. J replied coldly, looking down at the robot-like fourteen year old beside him. "I would kick you out if it weren´t for the fact that you know the secret about Operation Meteor," he continued. "You showed too much emotion, too much uncontrolled rage. You have your own opinions and that won´t do. I failed in making a Perfect Soldier out of you." _

_"No! I can be like him!" Mamoru exclaimed, pointing to Heero, who was staring at him blankly and quietly, without even a glint of acknowledgement. _

_"Heero is perfect," Dr. J responded, dismissing Mamoru´s comment. "The moment I saw him after that bombing mission, I knew he would be perfect for the job. He has no emotion, no wish, no will. You, on the other hand, have too much ambition, too much eagerness to please, not enough competence for being a pilot." _

_Mamoru bit back the harsh tears that threatened to fall. He would not show any weakness. The only reason he wanted to please so much was because he wanted to make Dr. J happy. J was his father, and with sadistic amusement, Mamoru suddenly realized that he loved the old, crazy professor. He loved him like a son would love a father, but obviously, J had never seen him as that. The moment he had brought Heero back, he had decided that the younger boy would be a better candidate, seeing that he was brought up by a famous assassin, and Mamoru had been tossed aside, neglected, for the past five years. He had tried his hardest, but in the end, it all came to nothing. _

_Love was an illusion indeed. It did nothing but hurt. It didn´t exist. He didn´t love J. He hated the old man for treating him like an object, an experiment. And as he looked up and met Heero´s empty eyes, he knew that he hated the boy too. He hated this boy who waltzed into his life one day and turned everything he knew around. He hated this boy who excelled in the fighting arts, and especially at electronics and software. He hated this boy who was going to be the pilot of Wing in his place. _

_He hated Heero Yuy for taking his identity, everything that he was. _

_Icily, he bit out in monotone, "Very well, I shall be gone as soon as possible, whenever you deem it best." _

_Dr. J gave a nod, but Heero barely showed that he realized Mamoru had spoken. The dark-haired teen stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. One day, he would make J pay for his decision. And one day, he would make J´s Perfect Soldier pay for taking everything from him. _

_*End Flashback*_

It was too bad the fool of a scientist had died before he could carry out the plan. But his Perfect Soldier had lived, and Mamoru would take out every bit of his vengeance on him. Yes, he couldn´t sit and be angry, then Heero would win because of this code.

Mamoru smiled to himself, deciding to put all his effort into breaking this code of his rival´s. Mamoru knew that the Perfect soldier knows of his own skills with a keyboard. It was only going to be a matter of days before he broke through this code.

The only thing Heero was buying with this little obstacle of his. . .was time.

****************************************

End of Chapter 11.

AN: Ugh! Finally done! I´ll make this really quick before I run off to work on the next chapter of LMB. Just a quick note about where we are in the story. There´s about 2-3 chapters (and possibly an epilogue) left. I hope the rest will be satisfying too. *sigh* Review please! And a very Merry Christmas to you all.


	13. Chapter 12: White Roses

Silent Waltz by Hikari-chan

Disclaimer: Not mine! Not mine! Not mine! . Go away!

AN: Well, for the longest time after the last chapter, I was stuck with a writer´s block. After the climatic scene with Heero having to choose either Usagi or the plans, I wasn´t quite sure where to go to make it good. After all, what could _possibly_ live up to that? I didn´t want to do a half-ass job and ruin the poor story, as well as disappoint the readers, so I just left it and hoped inspiration hits. About a few weeks ago, I was talking to Sere-kun on AOL when she mentioned a possible idea, and lo and behold, writer´s block was gone. So kudos to Sere-kun for that. *huggles*

Katlin Grace: I think the situation was too grave for them to have thought about fainting. ^_~

Lilaclight: I hope you meant Christmas, 2003. LOL.

Chibi Shamps: Well, I want it to end! . I need to finish this once and for all instead of leaving it dragging on.

Heart Soul: I was speechless because you guessed most of it correct. ^^

Anime Redneck: Thank you for all the compliments. I didn´t really have Treize in mind when I was writing Mamoru, but now that you mention it, there is a similarity.

Minna-san: I can´t believe I still have readers. Honestly, I´ve taken so long that most of the people who read it from the beginning should have abandoned me by now. So I thank you heartily for your continuous support. I hope you won´t be disappointed with these last bits.

Warnings: Heero is OOC (but less so in this chapter), action, wordy, and cliffhanger. (Now you can´t say I didn´t warn you.)

*********************************************

Chapter 12 - White Roses

*********************************************

He was only buying time, and he knew it. He also knew that he wasn´t buying very much time. In fact, he´d be lucky if he got more than twenty-four hours. After all, Dr. J had trained them both. Everything he was taught, Mamoru was also taught.

Yet, the funny thing was, neither of them had turned out the way Dr. J wanted. At some point in both of their lives, they had been perfect soldiers, Mamoru sometime in his teenage years, and he as well. But Mamoru had ambitions, his own goals, his own plans, a sense of leadership and intelligence that J hadn´t liked. It wasn´t that Heero was unintelligent. He was just willing to take orders when Mamoru wasn´t. Yet, he was the one who had somewhat regained his humanity. He had succumbed to what J considered the most horrible weakness of all – emotions.

Holding the sleeping girl in his arms closer, he couldn´t help but disagree with Dr. J, and everything he had thought correct in life. She didn´t weaken him. She strengthened him. She made him want to live. He wanted to succeed because she would be proud of him. She could make him forget his guilt, the blood on his hands. For her, he would be able to do anything. For her, he would make sure his archenemy never built that cannon. Because if the world goes, so would she, and he refused to let her die.

Quietly, he untangled himself from her embrace so she wouldn´t wake up. She grumbled a little at the sudden loss of warmth, a frown marring her pretty face. He gave a small smile, watching her cute behaviour. Leaning down, he kissed her softly on her lips, and as though by magic, a smile replaced her frown.

He got out of bed and pulled the covers over her. He couldn´t believe she had actually wanted to sleep in his bed. If her father found them, he would be lucky to die by a gun.

Unlocking the secret compartment of his laptop again, he stared at the white rose resting peacefully in the blank journal. Was it his imagination? Or did it seem even prettier than he had remembered? He glanced at the girl again. He couldn´t leave without letting her know, somehow. Snapping the compartment shut, he quickly scribbled out two notes, one for the Maganacs and one for her. He changed, armed himself, and quietly left the room, looking at the sleeping girl one more time before he shut the door.

The two notes were slipped under Rashid´s door. Then, he disappeared into the night, as silently as a ghost, as if he was a part of the shadows of the night.

~*~*~*~*~

Sighing softly, Usagi woke to the glare of the shining sun. Her eyes fluttered open to meet the clock on the desk. It read eight o´clock. Surprised, her eyes flew open and she almost leapt out of bed.

Why hadn´t Heero awaken her? Quickly, she looked around the room. The laptop still sat on the desk. She breathed a sigh of relief. If he had left his laptop, then he didn´t abandon her. Quickly, she left for her room.

No sooner had she shut the door, a loud squeal from downstairs made all the habitants rush out of their rooms.

"That´s Minako!" Duo yelled, panicked as he dashed down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen, followed closely by the other three pilots, Kenji, Ikuko, and Usagi.

Oh God, if anything happened to Minako, they were going to die slowly and painfully. At the thought, Usagi´s eyes hardened and she ran faster.

She crashed, literally, into Wufei´s back in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Ouch!" she yelped loudly, almost falling to the floor. Then, rubbing her nose, she added quickly, "Is Minako alright?"

She peered around the Chinese, only to see the cause of Minako´s surprise. There, sitting on the kitchen table, were two huge bouquets of white roses. Usagi´s eyes widened.

"What is this?" Kenji asked, walking into the room. He eyed the flowers suspiciously, as though expecting them to blow up in his face like biological weapons at any moment.

"These, Mr. Tsukino," Quatre answered quietly, "would be roses, though I´m not sure if they´re from my garden or not."

Minako, who had been standing in the middle of the kitchen, suddenly turned to Quatre. "Who are they for, Quatre?" she asked, a bright glint of happiness in her eyes.

The blond-haired man turned to her apologetically. "I have no idea, Minako," he replied. "I didn´t even known they were here."

A loud noise from the doorway behind them made them turn to the newcomers. Looks of surprise crossed all the pilots´ faces.

"Lady Une, Miss Relena," Quatre was the first to greet them. "It´s awfully early for you to drop in."

"I had to inform Relena of our situation, seeing that it has gone beyond what even I expected to happen. I didn´t think it might come to war," Une stated coldly, looking at the pilots.

"We understand," Quatre responded. Quickly, he introduced everyone.

Usagi examined Relena carefully under lowered eyes. She had a manner of grace and self-confidence. It was no surprise that Heero had first been drawn to her. She had been so sure, when Heero had first told her about Relena, that she would be jealous of the other girl. Now, she was surprised to find that she felt nothing but respect for her. Usagi recalled Heero´s words clearly. Relena had been the humanity he had lost, but she couldn´t give him back his own humanity, because humanity had to be learned. It couldn´t be received, and Usagi was the one who taught him to love. Usagi didn´t doubt Heero´s feelings for her.

"It´s been a very long time, everyone," Relena replied, looking around the room, her cornflower blue eyes taking everything in. Her eyes fell onto the roses on the table. "How beautiful," she breathed.

"Is everything alright?" Une asked seriously. From the look on her face, it was clear that she was alluding to something else.

"He didn´t do anything stupid, yet," Duo joked.

Quatre nodded. "Now, if only we could figure out where these flowers came from," he added.

Minako looked hopefully at Duo, but the braided boy merely grinned and shook his head. "Sorry, Minako," he said. "I´m not that romantic."

Minako´s face fell, and Duo suddenly wished he was the one who had brought the roses.

"Where´s Heero?" Relena asked all of a sudden.

Everyone, except for the vice-foreign minister, looked at Usagi.

"What?" the blonde cried, throwing her hands into the air. "We´re not joined at the hips."

Relena studied her, sending a look between anger and curiosity her way.

"Are you looking for Heero?" Rashid called out, poking his head into the kitchen.

"Yes," Quatre replied. "Have you seen him, Rashid?"

"No," Rashid answered, "but he did leave me a note telling me to get that." He paused, pointing to the roses.

Duo´s jaw hit the floor. "Heero got roses?!" he shouted.

Rashid shrugged. "Ah, and this is for you," he added, handing Usagi a folded piece of paper before leaving to check up on the mansion´s security.

"That´s so cute!" Minako squealed, spontaneously hugging her cousin. "What does it say? What does it say? Is he proposing?"

Usagi turned red. "Minako!"

Kenji glared. Screw the fact that he had given his approval. He was going to have something to say if his daughter got married before she turned forty.

Usagi stepped back from the eyes in the room, quickly scanning the note. Her eyes widened as she reread the note again and again. "Oh God, no," she whispered, horror laced into her voice. She ran to the bouquets on the table and counted quickly.

Everyone watched as she slumped numbly into the closest chair, staring mindlessly at the roses on the table. Worried, Minako ran forward and took the note out of her hand, half out of curiosity, half out of genuine concern.

"_Happy 25 months,_" she read aloud. "_I´m sorry. You know what I have to do. I will love you until the last rose dies._"

"That´s dishonourable!" Wufei declared. "Those weak flowers will die within a week. It´s injustice that Yuy risked everyone for a woman that he´ll love for a week."

"Uh. . .guys," Quatre interrupted. His eyes were glued to a single rose in one of the two bouquets. The rose was different in colour, its white so pure that it was almost unreal. "That one, it´s fake. That rose in the centre is a fake flower."

"I will love you until the last rose dies," Minako repeated to herself, her eyes tearing. "If that one is fake, it will never die."

"Where is he?" Une asked again, frowning. Something had happened to Heero. She supposed it should be good. The boy had lost so much during the Eve Wars. He deserved to be happy, but when it was endangering the world, then she would rather have the old Heero back.

Usagi felt teardrops rolling down her cheeks. Why did he have to do this? "Why can´t you understand?" she whispered to no one in particular, unaware that everyone was listening to her. Even Relena´s eyes softened at the sadness she saw before her. "A life without you isn´t worth living at all."

_*Flashback*_

_It was so perfect. She couldn´t help it. She had always loved roses, and this one, a pure white in full blossom, was the most beautiful rose she had ever laid eyes on. On impulse, she looked up at the shopkeeper, whose smiled gently at her._

_"Would you like that, Miss?" she asked. _

_"Very much," Usagi replied, her blonde head nodding up and down enthusiastically. "How much is it?" _

_"Four dollars," the shopkeeper answered, carefully plucking out of the container where it sat on display. _

_The blonde paid and took the beautiful flower, leaving the shop happily. Humming to herself, she wandered through the quiet streets. It was already evening. She wasn´t sure what made her decide to take a walk after dinner, but Fate called, and she answered. _

_"Look what we have here," a raspy male voice suddenly said. _

_Usagi whirled around, her eyes widening at the sight of three boys in leather jackets. She stepped back, her eyes wide with fear. _

_The boys laughed. The tallest one quickly approached her, and grasping one of her wrist so tightly that she cried out, he murmured, "If you don´t scream, we´ll make it easier." _

_Usagi blinked, still afraid but suddenly angry as well. Like hell she wouldn´t scream. Opening her mouth, she let out the loudest shriek the three boys had ever heard. Quickly, the tall one slapped her across the face. The white rose fell soundlessly onto the ground. _

_"Don´t say I didn´t warn you," he threatened. _

_But it was already too late. The lone soldier who was wandering aimlessly about the darkened streets had heard her cry for help. Sprinting towards the sound, he had arrived just in time to see the three boys slap the young girl. _

_"Leave her," he stated in monotone. _

_Despite its placidness, all the people present sensed the dangerous undertone in the words. Usagi looked up to see who her savior was, but nothing was clear in her vision due to the darkness. _

_"What are you going to do about it?" the tall boy sneered. _

_Immediately, the other two rushed the lone soldier. Usagi watched, wide-eyed, as he skillfully dodged and attacked. She never noticed the remaining one looking at the rose she had cherished so. _

_"You should not be concerned about them," the boy told her. He made the move to step on the white rose, crushing its beauty. _

_"No!" Usagi shouted. _

_The lone soldier, hearing her cry, rammed into the tall boy at a breakneck speed, tackling him to the ground and effectively knocking him out as he did the other two. Wordlessly, he picked up the rose and brought it back to her. He knelt before her, holding out the flower. _

_"You shouldn´t be out so late at night," he lectured her tonelessly. _

_"If I could defend myself like you, then it wouldn´t matter," Usagi replied, looking up to see his face. She was stunned when she met his Prussian blue eyes. They were so deep, so exquisite, yet so lifeless. They were blank except for their colour. His brown hair fell boyishly into them, and unable to help herself, she reached out and brushed them out of his eyes. He reeled back, as though he´d been burned by her touch. _

_"Hn," he grunted, almost shoving the rose into her hands. _

_Usagi studied the rose, then looked up at him. "You keep it," she decided. "You saved it, so you keep it." _

_"Hn," he grunted again, but Usagi could tell he was touched by the softening of his eyes. _

_She had to ask. If she didn´t, then she would forever be helpless. "Can you. . .Can you teach me?" she whispered. "To fight, I mean." _

_He stared at the rose in his hands, and then at her. Suddenly, it was as though he got lost in his memories. Another girl, another flower. No, he refused to take another victim. He gave her his most chilling glare. _

_"Stay away from me," he warned her, turning his back to her. He disappeared into the night as suddenly as he had appeared. _

*_End of Flashback_*

It was not the end of their acquaintance. She kept bumping into him, again and again, and eventually, she had made a small prick in that frozen wall of ice. He had said once that he was darkness, he was the night. And she was the sun, the day, his other half. They complemented each other.

"The sun will never rise again if the night doesn´t come," Usagi murmured to herself.

"Where is he?" Trowa suddenly interrupted the silence.

Usagi looked up at him with blank eyes. They were so lifeless that her family´s eyes widened with surprise and fright at the change in the girl they had thought they knew like the back of their hand.

"You must know," Trowa insisted.

"The base," Usagi answered quietly. "He said that he was the one who gave away the plans, so he´s going to go destroy them, or be destroyed himself."

"If he said this, why didn´t you tell us earlier?!" Wufei yelled. "We could have stopped Yuy! Or at least we could have gone with him!"

"He told me," Usagi murmured, undisturbed by Wufei´s tone, "in his note."

"You know what?" Duo butt in. "We have to save Heero. I´d give my right arm to see Heero get hitched. And if you got that in those three sentences he wrote, then you´re going to marry him."

Usagi remained motionless. Seeing this, Minako frowned and walked up to her cousin. She raised her arm and slapped Usagi across the face, hard. "Get a hold of yourself, Usagi!" she yelled. "Look at this guy! He risked the world for you, and now, he´s risking his life for the world. He´s doing this for you. And if you don´t do anything, he´s going to die for you! How do you think he felt when you were there? I can tell you he didn´t just sit around and mourn, that´s what!"

The mist in Usagi´s eyes slowly cleared, hard determination replacing the sadness instead. "We´re going to him," she decided resolutely, standing up and looking at the pilots, who nodded in agreement. "Front door in fifteen minutes, not a second more."

And with that, she ran upstairs to get ready, leaving everyone staring after her.

"She definitely learnt from Heero," Duo grumbled, recalling the way the Wing pilot had them assembled and ready back in the Eve Wars.

Agreeing with the braided boy for once, the rest of the group piled out to get ready, leaving Quatre, Relena, and Une. The blond-haired boy looked worriedly at Relena.

"Miss Relena," he began.

Relena held up her hand, stopping him. "I know," she replied softly. "Lady Une told me yesterday."

"And you´re alright with it?" Quatre prompted.

"No, I´m not alright with it," Relena responded, sadness in her eyes. Une tactfully left them to talk, unnoticed by either of them. "How can I be, Quatre? I´ve loved him since the first time I saw him."

Quatre remained silent, not knowing how to comfort the girl.

"But he´s happy," Relena continued, her sad eyes glued sadly to the roses on the kitchen table. "I suppose we weren´t meant to be. I haven´t even talked to him these past two years. He must love her a lot if he chose her over the world that he´s been taught to protect since he was a child."

Quatre followed her gaze, nodding in agreement. "He does," he confirmed. "I felt it. He loves her more than words can say."

~*~*~*~*~

It wasn´t the first time he had been thankful for his memory, and he was sure that if he lived, it wouldn´t be the last. He paid no heed to the intricate twists and turns of the halls except for the path that led to the control room. The cameras were blown to bits as he dashed by. Stealth was out of the question. Mamoru, he was sure, already knew of his presence. No point in letting the man watch him as he passed by.

He reached the same electronic door that had led him to the control room of the base the first time he was here. But this time, he knew what was on the other side. And he knew that he wouldn´t find his love on the other side.

Drawing his gun, he readied himself as the door slid open. He wasn´t at all surprised to find Mamoru leaning casually against the mainframe in the centre of the room, coldly watching as he stepped forward, the gun raised.

"Welcome back," the black-haired man smirked as all the soldier in the room steadied their rifles and aimed at Heero.

"Hn," he grunted in reply, the handgun still trained on his enemy.

"Going back to old habits, I see," Mamoru replied, looking bored.

"I´m going to kill you, even if it means you take me down with you," Heero responded in monotone.

"That´s interesting," Mamoru returned. "Now, what would your sweetheart think?"

"Leave her out of this," Heero gritted out.

Mamoru ignored him. "Let me give you a proposal," he baited. "I´m sure you´ve been wanting this as long as I have. We´ll have a one-on-one fight. I can guarantee that my soldiers will not interfere. If you win, you get the cannon plans, which I´ve unlocked from your code, and my life will be forfeit."

Heero narrowed his eyes. Certainly, it sounded good, but there had to be a catch. Of course, beating Mamoru wasn´t going to be easy, but the proposal was still too good. "And if I lose?" he asked.

Mamoru smirked. "Your life is mine, and the girl is mine."

If Heero´s eyes had been icy before, now they were frighteningly chilling. Mamoru noticed the change and his confusion mounted, although his facial expression didn´t change. "Tell me, why did you choose her over the plans?" The tone of his voice was condescending, as though he was berating Heero for his choice, but deep down, he wondered what could make J´s Perfect Soldier go against everything he was taught.

"It´s none of your business," Heero answered. "I accept your offer."

Mamoru shrugged. He´ll get it out of the Perfect Soldier, eventually. Right now, he would concentrate on the fight. He gave a nod to his soldiers, who lowered their guns and left the room, then he took on a fighting stance.

Heero fell into a similar one. He would win this battle, even if it killed him.

~*~*~*~*~

"Amazing," Une muttered, looking down from the hill onto Earth´s latest threat. "It´s amazing that this could be a base for an underground rebellion."

"But it is," Quatre replied. "I still don´t think it was a good idea for all of us to come."

"We´re here for Heero!" Minako exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"We´re here for the world," Une corrected with a frown.

"You´re here for the world," Usagi stated placidly. "I´m here for Heero. And I agree with Quatre. More people makes more targets for the enemy. Plus, we´re such a large group that we´re never going to make it unnoticed."

"Holy Shinigami," Duo muttered. "You even say the same stuff Heero would."

Kenji stared at his daughter. She was almost leading this operation, and just now, he was realizing that he didn´t know her as well as he thought. His wife was in a similar state, but they had convinced her to stay at Quatre´s mansion. She had been the only one who had agree, solemnly entrusting her daughter´s life to her husband. However, now, as Kenji looked on, Usagi would be better protected by herself than by him, a fact that he acknowledged, but wasn´t happy to accept.

"If we go in peacefully, then I´m sure we can negotiate whatever problem these people have with the government," Relena reasoned.

"If that worked, we wouldn´t be here," Wufei hissed.

"But," Relena started to protest.

"Even if that worked, I doubt Heero took that method," Trowa interrupted. "We can´t expect them not to be on guard."

"We´re splitting up past the entranceway," Usagi decided, turning to face them. "Trowa, you lead one team. Take Dad, Wufei, Quatre, and Miss Relena. That leaves Duo to lead Minako, Lady Une, and me."

"Wait, I´m leading?" Duo asked incredulously. He thought for sure Usagi was going to take the lead in one of the two teams by the way she was taking charge now.

"I can´t. I don´t remember the paths from the entranceway," Usagi replied.

"I´m going with you and Minako," Kenji argued.

Several people opened their mouths to argue as well. Usagi silenced them all. "We don´t have time to argue over this! Let´s move before he makes a copy of the plans."

Usagi and the ex-Gundam pilots, with the exception of Wufei, whipped out their guns, checking to make sure they were loaded. Relena´s eyes widened in horror at the fact that they were carrying weapons, but refrained from commenting.

Usagi led the whole group to the entrance, where she started to crack the electronic code, much like Heero had previously done. Kenji merely shook his head in wonder. What else didn´t he know about his daughter? Minutes later, they made their way into the base. The two groups split up silently.

Trowa and Quatre took the lead of the first group while Kenji and Wufei brought up the back, keeping the vice-foreign minister safely in the middle. Any soldiers they met were quickly and effectively taken care of to avoid anyone else being aware of their presence. Trowa was feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. They had done this and traveled this way before. It wasn´t long before he recognized the same set of doors that he now knew led to the control room. He soundlessly hoped that the other team had reached the other door as he entered the code he remembered from last time.

Meanwhile, Duo led his group through the other halls, with Usagi bringing up the rear. However, somewhere along the way, the blonde had started to lead, and Duo was at the back, which was reasonable considering the braided boy had never seen those halls before. It must have been the ones Heero took last time they were here. It must also have been the way Heero took this time, and they all picked up on the broken cameras and various unconscious men lying across the floor. Usagi quickly started to crack the code on the control room door while Une looked on in interest. Never had she seen someone even close to the skills the ex-Gundam pilots showed when they were in action, but this girl, who Kenji had previously claimed to be helpless, was everything they were. Either Heero had trained her really hard, or she had great potential, and Une would bet her left arm that it was the latter, considering the love between the two. As the door hissed open, she broke out of her thoughts, concentrating instead on what was going to happen. No matter what, she would make sure the Earth´s citizens didn´t face any more threats.

~*~*~*~*~

Dodge, punch, miss, kick, miss, dodge. The actions were continuous, repetitious, never-ending. For what felt like an hour now, he had been trying to hit Mamoru, but never succeeding. The man was faster than he remembered. Or maybe it was because he was out of practice. He hadn´t trained seriously for over two years now. Yes, some things were hard to forget. They even came naturally, but to take it that extra level, practice was absolutely necessary, and right now, he didn´t have that.

He grunted when Mamoru hit him in the side. He took a step back. Early in the fight, the black haired man had hit his gun out of his hand, sending it soaring to the other side of the room. Yet, he hadn´t made any move to retrieve some sort of projectile weapon. It was as though he had been looking forward to a hand to hand fight with Heero his whole life.

Internally, Heero grimaced. Hand-to-hand was Wufei´s specialty, not his. It looked like there _were_ disadvantages to relying on your team after all.

Mamoru rushed forward, and despite Heero´s blocks and dodges, the black-haired man scored a few hits. One of his kicks hit Heero so hard that the Perfect Soldier fell to the ground on one knee, breathing heavily.

"It looks like the better man won after all," Mamoru mused, taking out his own gun from his waist and aiming it at the Perfect Soldier´s head.

Heero glared at him through icy Prussian blue eyes. Two years ago, he could have beaten this man. Actually, if it was anyone else, he still could have beaten them senseless, but Mamoru was an exception. He had the same training as Heero, and he had been practicing when Heero had thought the world was at peace.

"Just what is the better man?" he bit out.

Before Mamoru could answer, two doors hissed open, and ten new people piled into the control room, the majority of which had eyes the size of saucers when they saw the situation in the room.

"Heero," Relena breathed. She made a move to approach him, but Quatre quickly restrained her.

"Looks like I have an audience for my triumph," Mamoru smirked.

"What triumph is that?" Duo shouted, his hands itching to shoot the man, but seeing the gun pointed to his best friend´s head made him refrain himself.

"Why, the triumph of beating the Perfect Soldier in combat, of course," Mamoru answered nonchalantly. He wasn´t scared of their number at all. After all, he was holding the hostage. If they wanted him alive, which he knew they did, they wouldn´t do anything stupid, like rushing to kill him.

Wufei snorted. "I can beat him too if I wanted," he declared. "In the name of justice, fight me!" He took a fighting stance, readying his sword.

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "If I fought for justice, I wouldn´t be standing here," he replied sardonically.

He glanced at his long-time rival, whose eyes had locked with that of the blond-haired girl, silently communicating with each other. He had yet to find the answer to his question.

"You have yet to tell me why you chose the girl over the plans," he drawled, waiting for the answer.

Heero refused to satisfy him, keeping silent while he glared chillingly at him. Frustrated, Mamoru decided that if the Perfect Soldier wouldn´t tell him, he would suffer the consequences, the kind that didn´t just hurt him physically.

He turned his eyes to his rival´s girlfriend.

"I´ve had a change of heart, my dear," he stated, adding the endearment for the sole purpose of making Heero angry.

"It couldn´t be worse than the one you had before," Usagi bit out, sending him the same death glare as Heero, which unnerved Mamoru more than anything.

Still, he didn´t show it outwardly. "Touché," he replied. After a moment of silence, he added with a self-satisfied smirk, "The choice is yours this time. One of you will die. You pick. Do you want me to put a bullet through his head, or yours?"

Everyone except the three involved in the matter reeled back in surprise. All were about to protest the inhumanity and immorality of Mamoru´s suggestion when the blonde spoke up.

Usagi hadn´t even stopped to think. "Me," she said, determination flashing in her eyes. "You said you always keep your word. Shoot me, then let him go."

Heero looked up sharply at her. "Usagi, I´ll never forgive you," he stated dangerously. "Do you remember what you promised me?"

"I do," Usagi answered softly, turning her eyes to him. They glistened with tears, but Heero could tell that there was no room for argument in their depths. "And I´m sorry. I´m sorry I´m breaking my promise now, and I´m sorry that I´m leaving you. But I can´t. I love you too much to watch you die, let alone sentence you to death myself. This wasn´t your fault. It was mine, so I´m going to die for it. Forgive me."

She shut her eyes tightly as the sound of Mamoru´s gun went off.

*********************************************************

End of Chapter 12.

AN: XD I warned you! =P So you finally know how Heero and Usagi met the first time. Nobody picked up on the white rose. At least no one mentioned it in their review. Speaking of which, if you want the last chapter, then you know what to do. ^_~ Yes, there´s only one chapter left, and depending on what I can cram into it, there may or may not be an epilogue. I´m off to finish my ISP. Ciao!


	14. Chapter 13: Forever

Silent Waltz by Hikari-chan

Disclaimer: Strawberry shortcakes and New York style cheesecakes! What does that have to do with disclaimers? I don´t know either. I don´t own Sailormoon or Gundam Wing.

AN: Bwahahahaha! I finished writing this fic! Aren´t you proud of me? XD Yea, yea, I´ll bet you´re all saying 'Finally!´ right where you´re sitting. Don´t lie. I know you are. =P Alright, so I want to take up this space right here to say a hearty **thank you** to every person who has reviewed. You made this story happen, because if it was up to me, I would have discontinued it completely more than once. So, brace youself:

siren, Faifu, Aidenn Legacy, Lady Rinehart, Missing In Action, Dream Tenshi, DW, Shibobwa shingami, Neo Angel Solar System, Uranus2000, Brittney, Ame, Li-chan, setsuna, Water Spirit, SilverRay, Destiny´s Rose, GoldenGoddess, Anime Princess, Midnight Angel, Sarisia, JLSCORPIO78, Alilacia, Galexz, Aquarius, MT gal, Moon Assassin 13, Selene, Narumei-chan, ^_^, Serena Yuy, Dragon, BunnyS, Bon, dillpops, Sol_Priestess, Miami-Lu, zgurl, PrincessVenus, Minako Winner, miracle, SailorMakotoChan, Carl P, moonie girl, chibi, VioletHaze, alexz, Cosmos Usagi, cherry blossoms little wolf2, Purr, Mavan, Daystar Flame, Sailor Asteria, DB, himesame16, Seraph, Amscray, Li-Cha Chamos Hecate Hellstone, anny, Akana Akurei, obsessed, Mika-chan, Asuka Serioko, Cybele, Akiko Joy, Sapho, ANjel, Himiko, Charity23, Midnight Lady, Hell´s Little Angel, Archangel of Death, Asitha, mimi, White Rose, Lucia, Cosmos12, Tenshi-chan, Starlight, key, lirpa, RINI, Kae, DemonicCatGirl, cricket, the Iron Duke, Poisyn, frizz-b-gone, Kakarika Seiya, Gemini Tenshi, ~Jenny~, Darcey, ladijadyi, Moon Dreamer, CyberAngelOne, Netnut, Samantha, the Desert Fox, Allison, Usagi Asia Maxwell, V-Babe, SailorWaterfallz, PallaPalla-chan, minako, hiko-chan, Sailor Pixie, Silvermyst, Vixen, Princess Mimi, Prophetess Of Hearts, Lena Yuy, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, The Silent Warrior, liriele, MarsMoonStar, Silver Star Tenshi, Usagi Yuy Briefs, SweetKawaiiAngel, Jumping Jellybeans, No Blood For Oil, Meredith, themoonmaiden, Ken-chan, ~*~Firefly Princess~*~, Britt, Tenshi Cat, Selene110, Crazy-Gurl, Lisa, kay, Solus Nox, Ashley, Gakkuri Naishinnou, the Duke of Fenwick, sakura-li, Sylvan Druid, Midnight of Shadows, silva star, @-------I--------, cryztaltearz, Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy, Shinigami2, FanFare, sele, Angel of Ice, TA, Celestial DreamBlaze, …., Angel, AngelFlame, AMYANGEL, Heart Soul, LeaD, Bluejello, Megham Reamer, Kagirinaku, Tempered_Angel, Jupiter (Seifer´s babe), Catteni, Luna the Lune, Shadows of Glory, MooCow, Aquaria, Fenikkusu o Kiri, hoshi (kakeochi), Britaneia, tenshi05, MOG, jess, Katlin Grace, Fangboy, Hoshi-hime, Blue Moon, SerenityLNguyen, serenity_hope, wolfeye, Maddy, Bunny, FateGoddess, Cheska, adb, Sailor Grape, Green Fire, Rubii Kimu-chan, Christine, Yoseffa Goldman, Sere Star, sailorericab02, Hildi-chan, BrittbeeLynn, hot brazilin chick, Usagi Yuy, Desu, cutecj18, solarmistress17, foxfire, liraeth, Silvrei, Blue Angel, Dark-moon-Angel, moon mama, Lunar Elf, LiLSeReBiTiE, jupiterschild, Darlana, Silver Shadows, AKA SS Silver, Vegetas Girl, The Kuro no Tenshi, Summer-Night, Cristina, Michelle, lilmakochan, JupiterAngel, konekochan_hime, Yume no tame ni, Dream wind, Orion Darkbane, AzureWrath, Liquid Ice, Fia, Aeryn, Star_06, Lady Hazal, Usagi Princess, tenshi_chikyuu, Lilaclight, Autumn Ice, Laydee Sakura, Bishienomiko, Sam369, LovelyAngel, Tigerz_Angel, mistress_13, Arella Hallo, mysticangel, Chibi Shamps, rheia, ejgHorseLady, Z.Z Zarah, Anime Redneck, Saturnpyroprincess, DarkKnight, Tyrion77, DragonGirl, Storm Demon, frosty, Silver-Star, starfall13, h, kalika55, Amy@ngel, Tabbes, keri carlson, moon princezz, Darkclaw, ElberethUndomiel, Dena, Renangel, Shi no Tenshi/Megami, pisces199, Callisto Star, fireangel, serena yuy, mandybean, kimeno-pebols, Lethal Purple Crayon, DustBunnies, Serena*, Kazzeh Sodapop, Kikenbutsu, Naïve Dreamer, Teardrops, Cinnamon, Kiku, dark angel 013, phishi, A Person, Lita, SailorKagome, Tira Wolf, Me, Tenshi Shino.

O.O Good Christ! Good luck finding your name in there! It took me an hour to do that. Now I know why no one else ever tries to list everyone who´s ever reviewed their fic. . You can be sure of two things: I didn´t know that many people have reviewed. And two, you can revel in that list because you won´t be seeing anything like it again, at least from me. No way am I doing this for LMB. If your name appears more than once, then you either used different names to review (unless I knew, e.g. Vixen and RixiVixi is the same person. I know that, so you only appear once, Vixen-san.) or I´m just too tired to remember I already put you. If you don´t appear, then you either have a name that´s almost exactly the same as someone already there, so I assumed you were the same person, or I´m too tired and I missed you. I´m sorry if I did.

Special thanks to those special people who have pre-read for me, edited for me, given me ideas, or just been supportive through your emails or IM messages. I sincerely thank you. You know who you are.

Notes: Wufei's wife, Meiran, died in his arms after fighting for their colony. Prior to her death, he didn't have any respect for her, but afterwards, he adapted the name she called herself, Nataku, for his Gundam and fought for justice. Lady Une was in love with Treize Kushrenada, who died nearing the end of Gundam Wing series.

Warnings: Heero is OOC, and open ending (as per usual, it seems). ^^

Without further ado, I present to you the finale to Silent Waltz.

****************************************************

Chapter 13 – Forever

****************************************************

Usagi´s eyes snapped open when she couldn´t feel any pain. She found herself staring at Heero´s back. Panicked, she ran up to him, catching him just as his legs gave out from exhaustion and pain. Lowering him and herself to the ground so that his head rested in her lap, she felt her eyes tearing up again.

"I should have known," she whispered softly, watching him wince slightly in pain as the blood flowed from his chest.

"Thank god you didn´t know," Heero muttered in reply. The pain in his chest intensified, and even though the bullet hadn´t hit his heart, he knew that it hadn´t been far off. The throbbing pain intensified, and he could feel a burning sensation in his lungs. The room started to swim in darkness, and he felt himself drifting into unconsciousness.

"No!" Usagi cried, tears starting to stream down her face. She clenched his hand more tightly, not even noticing the frozen figures of her family, friends, and even enemy around them. "Please, Heero! You can´t give up! Don´t close your eyes! Don´t!"

Mamoru watched, no longer able to keep the confusion from showing on his face. This was the second time J´s Perfect Soldier had done something to save that girl´s life. Judging the bullet´s speed, Mamoru knew that Heero hadn´t even stopped to consider any consequences before he ran into the bullet´s path. Why? He didn´t understand what his once-rival was thinking. First the earth, now his own life. Was one girl so important to him?

Taking advantage of the black-haired man´s momentary shock, Trowa and Wufei ran up immediately to him. The Chinese man dealt a quick karate chop to the hand holding the gun, making the firearm clatter loudly onto the floor. Even though Mamoru realized what was going on by then, he couldn´t have acted more quickly than Trowa, who had his arm twisted behind his back by then.

"Duo, go get a doctor. Hurry," Relena commanded, practically shoving the braided boy out of the room. The worry and near-panic tinged in her voice was noticeable by everyone, but no one commented on it.

Duo nodded, then, taking Minako with him, he hurried out of the room.

Quatre, having recovered from his surprise, even though he knew he shouldn´t be, quickly got to a kneeling position beside his friend, working on stopping Heero from losing any more blood before the doctor arrived.

Usagi looked on helplessly. She tightened her hold on Heero´s hand, willing her own life force to go into him. "Please don´t die," she whispered continuously, listening to his strangled gasps of breath as he fought unconsciousness. "You still have to teach me first aid. Promise me you would."

He stared into her tear-stained eyes, filled with concern and overflowing with love, and he knew that even if he died right here, right now, he couldn´t be happier. He had saved one person from death, even if that was little in comparison to the thousands he had killed. He had felt many wonderful things despite his training, even the most fantastic feeling in the world, and he knew he couldn´t be luckier. She deserved so much better.

"Usagi," he choked out breathlessly. "I want. . .to. . .to thank you."

Usagi put her index fingers to his lips, quieting him. "Don´t," she cried. "Please don´t. You won´t die. You can´t die. Promise me you won´t die?"

His eyes closed momentarily before opening again. This time, they were filled with all the words he couldn´t say aloud. "I love you," he murmured so gently that only she and Quatre heard him.

"I love you too," Usagi replied, the unrestrained tears flowing steadily down her cheeks. "I love you. I love you. I need you. Please, please hold on."

Neither noticed the heartbroken expressions on their friends´ faces. While Lady Une and Trowa´s were both calm on the outside, Lady Une couldn´t help but feel remorse for the girl who was slowly losing her love. She could sympathize; she had been there. Trowa, although he was still mindful of the man who had been the cause of all this sorrow and trouble, felt bad for the couple on the ground. His comrade was slowly dying in the arms of the woman he loved, and there were so many things Trowa wanted to say, so many questions about Heero´s life during the past two years he wanted to ask.

Wufei, for his part, had turned away. It was like watching himself and Meiran all over again, except he had lived and turned into a chauvinistic, egotistical man whose emotion outlet was his fighting. He wouldn´t wish his life on anyone, especially someone who should have been sunshine personified. He couldn´t see Usagi living the rest of her life like him. He glanced up at Relena, who had succumbed to tears the same way Usagi had. _Weak, _he scoffed characteristically in his mind, but he knew somewhere deep inside that it wasn´t true of either woman. They both loved Heero, and they were both watching the man they loved hold on to life by a thin thread. The only difference was that Usagi had experienced Heero´s love, and he was injured because of her. She was the woman he loved. Kenji, although Wufei noted that the man was visibly relieved that his daughter was alright physically, he was worried about Heero. Kenji kept shooting dirty glances at Mamoru, who had long since become strangely quiet and inactive.

Suddenly, Wufei felt a fury building up inside him. His friends were going through this because of that man, and unable to hold his temper, he walked over to where Trowa stood and gave Mamoru a hard punch in the face. "This is your fault," he snarled.

The man managed to look up at Wufei in a combination of fatigue, satisfaction, and confusion. "I did not make J´s Perfect Soldier run into the path of the bullet," he answered calmly.

"But you caused all this," the Chinese man hissed, signaling to the main computer, meaning everything from the hasty arrival of Usagi and Minako.

Mamoru let a small smirk reach his lips before it disappeared into bewilderment. "I want to know," he began quietly, "why you chose to die."

"I´m not going to die, goddamn it!" Wufei yelled, his already thin patience running out.

"I want to know," Mamoru clarified, looking up at the couple on the ground a few yards away from him, "why J´s Perfect Soldier chose to die. For a girl. Why did you risk your own life for her?"

Trowa looked down at the man he still held captive. "Why do you want to know?" he asked, knowing that was the question on Heero´s mind, if he was even aware of what his childhood rival has asked.

"Because I don´t understand," Mamoru admitted, still staring at the still form of the former pilot of Wing Gundam. "You´re the same as me. According to J, you´re even more perfect than me. You shouldn´t have done what you did." He spoke as though it had been Heero who had asked the question, as though he didn´t acknowledge that the boy he had tried to hurt in revenge for the hurt he himself had suffered at Dr. J´s hands when they were children wasn´t lying on the brink of death, but perfectly healthy.

"There are a lot of things I shouldn´t have done," Heero breathed hoarsely. "What you don´t understand, is humanity."

"Humanity?" Mamoru echoed.

"Look around," Usagi told him softly, watching as he obeyed her, his eyes leaving them and resting on Lady Une, Relena, Kenji, and the other pilots. "They´re here because they care about something, or someone. Wanting to protect people is a small part of humanity. When you fight because you don´t want other people to get hurt, you´re feeling humanity."

"We´re not supposed to feel anything," Mamoru replied mechanically.

"That´s impossible," Usagi muttered, recalling the stories that Heero had told her in a happier time. "Dr. J´s ideal is impossible. Humans are born to feel. The only way to live a good life is to do it according to your emotions."

Heero managed to nod slightly in agreement. He looked up at Mamoru´s eyes, and for the first time in their lives, the two shades of blue agreed on something. 

"Ironic coming from you, Perfect Soldier," the black-haired man commented, smirking slightly. 

Silence ensued, and the only sound in the room was the laboured gasps of breath coming from Heero and the soft, soothing sounds Usagi made as she stroked her boyfriend´s hair.

"I love you," Usagi repeated, bending down and pecking him gently on the his lips. "Don´t die on me."

With more effort than anyone could possibly have suspected, Heero tightened his hold on Usagi´s hand and whispered, "I love you too. Forever." His eyes closed from exhaustion and pain, letting the darkness overtake him, and Usagi stifled the cry that was lodged in her throat. Instead, she prayed silently to whatever god was listening at the moment that the doctor arrived soon.

In the quietness of the room, everyone had heard the verbal confession. It stunned them more than they would want to admit to hear Heero, of all people, say that aloud. True, almost everyone had known. After all, actions spoke louder than words. And if Heero´s previous actions hadn´t indicated his undying love, then nothing would.

"Love doesn´t exist," Mamoru muttered, more to himself than to anyone else, but everyone looked at him anyway.

Wufei pointed almost accusingly at Heero and Usagi. "There´s living proof right there," he responded, suddenly feeling violently ill and jealous. The couple was able to do what he and Meiran couldn´t – admit they love each other before it was too late for regrets. On one hand, he was grateful that they did have the chance that he didn´t, but on the other hand, he was bitter that he had realized his own feelings too late that day so long ago.

Before anyone had a chance to add to Wufei´s comment, Duo, Minako, and a tall, blonde in her early thirties came bursting through the doors.

"Sally," Une greeted with a small smile and a nod.

"Lady Une," Sally Po replied. She took one look at the young couple on the floor and dashed over to them, signaling Duo to come over with both her medical kit and a stretcher, which some nurses were carrying in.

As she worked, she spoke to Une, "Noin brought some Preventers with her. They´ve secured the base and are placing the soldiers under arrest."

Une nodded again. "Good work," she complimented. "Kenji, if you´ll just clear out the computer here. Trowa, Wufei, you bring that man to Noin. Quatre, help Sally out. Relena, Duo, come with me." She paused, looking down at Usagi. "I would like to speak to you as well."

The blonde nodded solemnly. "Afterwards," she replied, her eyes never leaving Heero´s wound.

"Make sure the boy lives, Sally," Kenji growled roughly.

Sally glanced up at the coworker who was famous for his dislike of boys, especially those who got within fifty feet of his daughter or his niece. Judging from the position Heero and Usagi were in, they were closer than friends. However, she also knew that this was no time to joke around. Kenji was serious, and she sensed it. Heero´s wound didn´t look good, but it wasn´t impossible for him to live.

"I will do what I can," she answered, watching him stalk over to the giant computer system and started working on clearing the plans. "Bring him to the helicopter outside," she commanded her helpers. She looked at Usagi, a small smile making its way onto her face. "Would you like to stay with him?"

Usagi breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought the doctor would insist he be left alone. And if she did, then Usagi would have worried herself to death over Heero´s condition.

"Yes, thank you," she answered.

Sally nodded and walked with her, following the stretcher and Quatre.

~*~*~*~*~

Lady Une sighed as almost everyone who had been involved with the recent event brought in paperwork that they had completed. The latest near-disaster need not be publicized, but the record was needed on file. They had lots of things to discuss.

As they seated themselves around the large, mahogany oak table in the most secure of the Preventers´ meeting rooms, Une studied each of their faces, noticing the tension and suspense that was still as thick as butter in the air.

"I believe we should start with a quick briefing," she began quietly once everyone was seated. "Kenji?"

The tired-looking, middle-aged man nodded and stood up. He gave a brief synopsis of the events that started the whole escapade, his tone grief. He couldn´t stop blaming himself. If only he hadn´t started the plans at all, this wouldn´t have happened. But as he sat down, Quatre, who had been sitting next to him, put a reassuring hand on his, and smiled at him in understanding.

"It´s not your fault," the blond spoke loud enough for all the occupants to hear. "You couldn´t have controlled all that had happened. We´re all responsible one way or another."

Lady Une nodded her agreement. She signaled Trowa to give a brief summary of what had happened at Quatre´s mansion while they were "protecting" the two girls, and how Usagi´s kidnapping set into motion the events that followed. Once he had spoken up to the disappearance of Heero this very morning, he stopped, knowing that everyone present knew what had happened afterwards.

Relena handed some government papers to Une, and quietly, she added, "That has all been typed up for the file. I have made sure that this will be a confidential file."

"And copies of the early plans have been made as well," Quatre continued, handing a large black folder to Une.

The woman flipped through it quickly, then tucked the papers Relena gave her into it as well.

"The power to the base has been disabled, the computers cleared of the information they contained, and the whole area has been marked off as dangerous grounds," Duo said from where he sat, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He was worried about his best friend, and the sooner they could leave this building, the better. He looked impatiently at the clock, hoping that Usagi was holding up at the hospital.

"The guards and men that worked there have been put under arrest," Wufei tacked on, impatient to leave as well. The tapping of his foot under the table was clear evidence of his unrest. "Their trial dates are pending right now, and they face anything between a small fine to five years in prison, depending."

"As for Mamoru Chiba, the man who was the mastermind behind the whole plan, as many of the soldiers freely admitted," Noin chipped in, "he has been placed under arrest, and face an undetermined sentence. We have decided it´s best to place him under specialized mental care until he is fit enough for society, which can be anytime from two months today to the rest of his life."

She paused, glancing around the room and knowing that the next issue was going to be touchy, because of the current situation. But Noin had never been one to shy away from the words that needed to be spoken. "From what I have been informed though, he has suffered the same childhood training as Heero, and judging from Heero´s personality, it will be very hard, if not impossible, to teach this man the true meaning of humanity. I personally believe he will always be a threat to society."

"Heero learned to love," Duo pointed out.

Instantly, the room went into absolute silence. Reminded of what they had witnessed in the control room of the now-abandoned base, every person´s face filled with anxiety, worry, and sorrow. 

"He´ll make it," Quatre whispered, breaking the silence. "He has to."

"Are you trying to convince us? Or yourself?" Une asked.

"He has to," Duo agreed with his fellow Gundam pilot. "I want to be the best man at his wedding."

Wufei snorted. "He´s more than likely to shoot you before the ceremony´s over," he muttered.

Duo gave him a hurt look, but before he could reply, Une spoke up. "I take it that we´re more interested in Heero´s welfare than this formal business of discussing the near-catastrophe that happened," she noted with slight amusement. "Should I temporarily adjourn this meeting?"

No one said anything, but the sudden shoving back of chairs as the pilots, Kenji, and Relena scrambled out the door to get to the hospital down the block was enough of an answer for her.

Une glanced at Noin, who was the only one left sitting calmly in her chair. "You are not concerned?" she asked the other woman as she stood up to put the black folder away before heading over to the hospital herself.

"I have confidence in Heero," Noin answered, standing up as well to accompany her boss. "He and Zechs have more in common than they´d like to admit."

~*~*~*~*~

Ikuko rocked her only daughter back and forth in her arms. She could not remember the last time her daughter had needed her so. And she could not believe that things had turned out this way. What she wouldn´t give to have been the one in the hospital emergency room instead of that boy. At least she could have died knowing that her child would be taken care of and wouldn´t be lonely for the rest of her life. But now, who knew what would happen?

On Usagi´s other side, Minako held her cousin´s hand comfortingly, but not offering any words to soothe the sorrow she was obviously experiencing. Minako knew that had Duo been the one in the emergency room, no words from anyone could help her, so she would not futilely attempt to try for Usagi. It would only remind her of what happened and make her feel worse.

"I should be in there," Usagi whispered, her tears starting again. "I should be in there. I should have been the one who was shot."

"Don´t say that, sweetheart," Ikuko murmured. "Fate has a funny way of deciding things."

"Well, I don´t find this the least bit amusing," Usagi answered bitterly. "I´ve already lost him once, Mom. I can´t take it again. I love him so much."

"I know, Usagi, I know," Ikuko replied softly. "But life doesn´t always work out the way you want it to."

The three women fell back into silence, a silence that was suddenly broken by the sound of the door banging open as a group of people ran into the waiting room. The boy with the long braid was leading the pack, and he hurried to them.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked urgently as Minako leapt into his arms, trying to reassure herself that he was still here.

"They´ve been in the operation room this whole time," Ikuko answered for her daughter.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted the would-be conversation. When the whole group looked at the man, who was probably in his fifties, he spoke. "Are you Mr. Heero Yuy´s family?"

"He doesn´t have a family," Duo blurted out. "We´re his friends."

The man frowned slightly. "I´m Dr. Fujisaki, but protocol has it that I can only release Mr. Yuy´s current status to his family members. Anyone with a relation to him is fine. A brother, sister, parent, wife?" he prompted.

Everyone shook their heads, but surprisingly, after a moment´s contemplation, Wufei hauled Usagi to her feet and out of Ikuko´s arms. He pulled her to the front of the group. "She is the closest thing he has to family," the Chinese declared.

The doctor peered at her, noting her tears and the look of distress that was obvious on her face. "Of what relation are you to Mr. Yuy, Miss?" he asked, bringing out his clipboard.

Before anyone could say anything, Wufei blurted out, "His fiancée."

Suddenly, the whole group was starting at Wufei instead. The doctor, however, seemed to deem this satisfactory. He frowned a little, as though recalling something, then signaled for Usagi to follow him. The blonde looked over her shoulder a little desperately, silently asking one of them to go with her, but Duo shook his head. It wouldn´t have been allowed anyway. Sighing, she followed the doctor into his office.

As soon as the two were out of earshot, all their attention was diverted back to Wufei. Duo slapped the Chinese man´s back, which earned him a dirty glare, and if it hadn´t been for the situation, a death threat as well.

"Good thinking, Wufei," Duo commented.

"It was," Quatre agreed. "Otherwise, we never would have found out how Heero´s doing."

"I only did it," the Chinese explained, "because I understand what she´s going through."

He looked away, not wanting to see his temporary moment of weakness. _Please, Meiran_, he prayed, _if you´re watching somewhere up there, let him pull through._

~*~*~*~*~

"What. . .what do you mean you don´t know whether he´s alive or dead?!" Usagi blurted out.

Dr. Fujisaki ran a hand through his hair. He could imagine how hard it must be for her to accept. He had already explained that he was the hospital´s expect doctor on bullet wounds. When Sally Po had brought the boy in and asked him to operate, he could already see the life slowly draining away from the body, but it hadn´t stopped him from trying. Still, he had been almost sure that this one would die. The bullet had struck a major artery, and it had been too close to the heart to have high hopes, but the boy was a fighter, and had surprised him, even with all his years as a surgeon.

"He´s physically alive, as in his body functions," the doctor explained. "But he´s dead spiritually, so to speak. In other words, he´s in a coma."

"A coma?" Usagi echoed stupidly. It was just too hard to accept.

"A coma," Dr. Fujisaki confirmed. "He´s in a state between life and death, unconscious but still breathing."

"Is. . .is there any way to know whether he´ll come back?" Usagi asked, fear and worry evident in her voice.

"If you´re asking me when he´ll wake up," Dr. Fujisaki stated, "the answer is I don´ t know. He could wake up tomorrow, but he could also never wake up. It´s all up to him. The bullet has been removed, and we´ll continue to care for him, physically and health-wise, but the rest is up to him."

That wasn´t the answer Usagi wanted to hear. She wanted to know that he was going to come back to her. She wanted desperately for him to hold her, kiss her, reassure her that everything would be alright. But it may never happen.

"Can I see him?" she asked instead.

"Of course," the doctor replied, a little solemnly. "It´s room 319 on the third floor."

Usagi turned and started to head out the door, but the doctor suddenly called out, "Your first name wouldn´t happen to be Usagi, would it?"

Surprised, because she hadn´t told him her first name, only her last, she looked back at the doctor. "How did you know?" she asked.

"I have a message for you, then," he whispered, almost painfully. "Your fiancé woke up a few minutes prior to the operation, and he said, 'Tell Usagi to be happy. Tell her not to give up´ before he went unconscious again."

That was more than Usagi could take. Barely managing a 'thank you´ to the doctor for delivering the message, she ran out of the office and into the elevator, not bothering to get the rest of their friends or her family. The tears flowed down her cheeks, even though she had thought she had cried them all out already. Slowly, she leaned back against the back wall of the elevator and slid down it, until she was sitting in a fetal position, hugging her knees and crying softly.

When the elevator dinged, Usagi stood up and walked into the quiet halls. Blindly, she found her way to room 319, and without knocking, she walked in.

The room was all white and smelled almost musky, as though no one ever used it. On the bed laid the still form of the boy she loved, hooked onto more monitors than she cared to name. Not knowing how she got there, she sat down on the chair next to his bed and slipped her hands into his.

"Heero, please wake up," she pleaded. "You promised me not to die, remember? You have to keep your promise. I know you´re mad because I put myself in danger for you, but I can´t sentence you to die. Don´t you see? Please live. You can´t die. I love you."

She was babbling, she knew, but she couldn´t care less. All she wanted was for his eyes to open. If she could see those Prussian blue eyes again, she didn´t care if someone raped her or killed her the very next day. The only thing that mattered was Heero´s life.

She sat like that for almost an hour, just dumbly telling him all her memories of the times they spent together, alternating between smiling and crying, pleading and threatening. Slowly, she realized that he wasn´t going to jump up and tell her it was all a joke.

Finally, she decided that she had to tell their friends downstairs what was going on. She tightened her hold on his hands and whispered, "If I keep the promise I´m going to make you, will you keep yours? I promise I´ll try to be happy. And I promise I´ll never give up, ever. But you have to promise to keep trying. You have to keep trying to wake up, and come back to us, to me."

She watched for any sign of acknowledgement, and when the wind blew softly into the room, sending a ripple through the sheets on the bed, she took that as his agreement.

"It doesn´t matter how long it takes you to fulfill your promise," Usagi finished achingly. "I´ll wait for as long as it takes. I´ll wait. Forever."

~*~*~*~*~

_Some time later. . . ._

A blond-haired, little girl ran as fast as she could towards the swings in the park, her little legs barely able to keep up with her enthusiasm. Her eyes sparkled as she suddenly turned around, waving widely at a blond-haired woman behind her.

"Hurry, hurry, Mother!" the little girl shouted.

The woman laughed. "Slow down, darling," she replied, finally catching up with her overzealous daughter. She seated herself on a nearby bench as she watched the girl climb onto the swing and play. She smiled softly, thanking the gods for everything they had given her. She was truly blessed.

It was so strange. The girl took after her in everything from looks to personality. The only proof that she was her husband´s daughter as well were her eyes. They were so amazingly similar in colour to her husband´s eyes that there was no denying it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her husband´s familiar brown hair. "Isn´t she wonderful?" the woman asked.

The man glanced down at her from where he stood. "As wonderful as her mother," he confirmed. He sat down next to her, draping his arm around the back of the bench.

She let her head rest against his shoulder, closing her eyes momentarily. "I wish. . ." she started in a wistful voice.

The man looked down at her. "You wish?" he prompted.

"I wish. . .you would kiss me," the woman amended, turning her laughing blue eyes to his.

He shrugged with a roguish grin. "That can be arranged."

*******************************************************

End of Chapter 13.

End of Story. 

Ending Notes

Yes, the man and the woman in the ending are supposed to remain anonymous. While I´m sure that most of you will jump to conclusions and assume that it´s Heero and Usagi, I wanted to point out that Duo **also**has brown hair, and Minako is **also** blond-haired and blue-eyed and generally enthusiastic and happy. And don´t bother asking who I intended them to be, because the answer is simply 'I don´t know´. I wrote the last part to be ambiguous, so I meant it to be that way. There are hints of either couple. I wanted to let _your_ imagination take over. Which couple is it? You tell me. ^_~

Final AN

It´s done!!! It´s done!!! It´s done!!! I can´t believe it! It´s done!!! How many months have I slaved over this story? Too many for me to count. I´m just glad it´s over. I´m sure many of you are surprised with the ending. I´m sorry if you wanted a totally sappy, mushy, ending. If it´s any comfort, the original version of this chapter had Heero and Usagi live happily ever after, but it was so drab. It had no colour and was expected from beginning to end. I love unexpected and open endings. It´s a Squaresoft thing that rubbed off on me. =P So when I thought this up one fateful afternoon, I decided it was perfect. I hope you enjoyed reading this story, even if it did take me a decade and a half to finish. . Please review! I´d love to know your thoughts on the ending. ^^ Until next time! Bye-bye!

**Don´t ask for a sequel! The answer is NO! Thanks. ^^**


End file.
